College Life
by ferentis
Summary: New York had always been the dream, but was it what was expected? Join Kurt, Blaine and Rachel as they discover the real lifestyle of college life. From a disruptive face from the past to Rachel's constant battle for first place, anything could happen.
1. Prologue  Part 1

If there were four words you never usually heard together, it would be the phrase 'Kurt Hummel was nervous'.

However, as the boy in question continued to fix his hair into perfection in front of his mirror, the very statement could not have been any closer to the truth. Kurt's mind felt as if it was running at a hundred miles per hour, his thoughts rushing together and clashing, creating a dozen different scenarios on what was about to unfold.

As he twisted a stray piece of hair around his comb, Kurt's eyes strayed to an envelop lying upon his table. He glared at the offending object, hating the fact that such a small thing held such a huge and significant impact upon his future.

"Kurt! Blaine's here."

At the sound of his fathers call, Kurt felt his stomach twist in a knot. The call was a warning, letting Kurt know he had but a few moments until his boyfriend appeared in his room. Giving up with his hair – after finally deciding that it was as good as it was going to look that day – he settled his comb down on the table, turning in time as Blaine knocked on the door.

"It's open," He replied, getting up so he could move some of his magazines from where they lay on his bed.

"Hey," He heard Blaine say after the door clicked close behind him. Kurt put his magazines on the table, before turning to face the other boy. He watched as Blaine smiled warmly at him, but Kurt couldn't help but notice that hidden behind it Blaine was just as nervous as he was. He felt himself relax at that knowledge, and returned the smile.

"Hi," He replied, walking over to Blaine and placing a kiss on his lips. As he did so Blaine moved to bring Kurt in closer, letting the kiss last longer than Kurt intended, and he understood that it was exactly what they both needed to help them relax, if only a little bit.

"I've missed you this week."

"Ditto," Kurt returned, smile growing slightly at his own use of his boyfriends usual catchphrase. He watched as Blaine's smile grew ever so slightly too, amused.

"Have you cleaned again?" Blaine asked, his eyes roaming around the room as Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Organized, Blaine," He said, slapping his boyfriend playfully on the arm as he let out a sigh. "It's really the only thing that has kept me somewhat sane at all this entire week."

And suddenly the mood had changed again. Blaine nodded in agreement to Kurt's words, and Kurt moved to grab his envelop off from where it sat on the table, before perching at the end of his bed.

"I can't understand why I'm so nervous about this," He said, laughing nervously as he did so. Blaine quickly moved to sit at his side, shifting the bag that he had brought with him off his shoulder so he could get more comfortable.

"I do. Kurt this is a big thing for both of us, regardless of whatever happens. If I'm honest, I'd be more concerned if you weren't nervous."

"It's just – if we end up disappointed Blaine -"

"Hey," Blaine interrupted, moving his hand so it was clasped tightly around Kurt's. He moved his thumb to rub smooth circles over it, hoping that he was calming the younger boy somewhat. "We've talked about this. No matter what's written on these papers, we'll work it out. Together. Just like we've managed to work everything else out that's been thrown at us in the past."

Kurt turned his head slightly to look at Blaine, still unable to convince himself that everything would be okay, even with the words of reassurance. His stomach had returned to doing backflips, anticipation building up over what it was they were both sitting on the bed together for in the first place.

"You don't need to worry so much anyway -" Blaine continued, sensing his boyfriends' worries. "No matter what, you always have Paris waiting for you."

"Paris is and always will be a second choice to this though. Sure, I want to visit there one day, and it would be nice to be closer to my Grandma, but this? This has been my dream ever since before I can remember," Kurt paused, letting out another sigh as he did so, attempting to collect all his thoughts together. "Let's – let's just open our letters. If we don't do it soon I think I might actually explode."

Blaine nodded in agreement, moving to find his own letter that was buried at the bottom of his bag. Kurt watched him as he searched for it; his heartbeat quickening at what was about to happen. This was it. This was finally when they would find out what they're futures held. In just a few moments they would find out where they would be living for the next few years, and whether or not they'd be living out their dreams just as they had mapped and planned out. But not only that. They'd finally discover if they would be on their way to achieving their dreams _together_. And just the fact that everything could change in a matter of moments was what left Kurt feeling so anxious. The two of them had agreed that no matter what happens, they would solve it together, supporting each other in whatever way they possibly could. But saying something and actually acting on it was different. And Kurt wasn't sure he wanted to see know what would happen if he was left disappointed. He couldn't even bring himself to think about it.

Once Blaine had finally found his own –rather crumpled – letter Kurt turned his own over, moving his hand to pull at the flap that was stuck down. Blaine however rested his hand on top of Kurt's, stopping him from opening the envelope.

"Wait," Blaine said, and Kurt turned to look at him in confusion as he did so.

"Blaine what -"

"We should open each others," He interrupted, and Kurt noticed that Blaine was offering his envelope to him. "We should open each others, and then tell each other what they say."

Kurt raised an eyebrow slightly, not sure why exactly it mattered as to who opened who's envelope. Still, after hesitating for a moment to look at Blaine's equally anxious expression, he nodded, and handed his own envelope out for Blaine to take. Blaine took it and smiled slightly as he let go of his own, letting Kurt take it away from him. The two of them looked at each other for a moment; before they turned the envelopes over, ready to open them.

"Okay. Are we going to agree on the count of three or -"

"Oh my god Blaine," Kurt groaned. "You're killing me here. Can we please just open them?"

Blaine watched as his boyfriend looked up at the ceiling, and had the situation been different he probably would have laughed at the action. Instead, he found himself sighing slightly before replying.

"I'm sorry. You're right. Let's just – let's just open them."

"Thank you," Kurt let out, sounding relieved.

The two of them looked down at the envelopes in their hands once more, before finally deciding that there was no use in prolonging the inevitable any longer. Hesitantly, they moved to open them, the air in the room around them filling with the heaviness they were both feeling. The room grew silent once the letters were out of their envelops however, both of them reading over the words that were there. For a while, neither one of them sure of weather to speak first, instead just letting the words that were in front of them seep into their mind.

"You made it," Blaine finally spoke quietly, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. Kurt – who had been busy reading over Blaine's letter for the second time – almost missed the other boys words, before slowly turning to look at him with wide eyes.

"W – what?"

Blaine continued to look down at the paper in his hands, shuffling slightly as he cleared his throat.

_" 'Dear mister Hummel. We are proud to inform you that you have been accepted into our fashion and design program -"_

"_What?_" Kurt asked again, his full attention falling on Blaine. Blaine smirked slightly as his boyfriends' shocked reaction, and continued reading.

_"Please let us know as soon as possible as to weather or not you are willing to accept your offer with us by the email address provided. If you do decide to accept this placement, we will contact you approximately two weeks before classes begin with your registration materials.'"_

Blaine felt his smile grow slightly as he heard his boyfriend chanting beside him, a string of 'oh my god, oh my god' being muttered, and he finished skimming his eyes over the letter, deciding Kurt could read over the rest of the details himself later.

"You made it, baby," Blaine said, turning to look at Kurt. His face fell slightly however as he caught sight of his own letter in Kurt's hand, suddenly remembering that he had no idea what his said. He had been so caught up in Kurt's happiness that he hadn't even realized that Kurt knew then whether he had been accepted or not.

Kurt turned to look at him, his eyes bright, and Blaine felt something shift within his stomach. He couldn't tell from Kurt's expression what he had read in the other letter, and he suddenly realized that the chanting from before could just as easily have been bad instead of good.

Kurt on the other hand was ecstatic. He resisted the urge to bounce on the bed from where he was sitting, knowing all too well there would be room to celebrate later. He caught sight of his boyfriends' still anxious expression and his hand clenched tighter onto the letter that was still in his hand. As Blaine's earlier words sunk in to his mind, Kurt shook his head, already feeling the brush of tears begin to litter his eyes.

"No. _We _made it. Blaine -" He sniffed, a stray tear falling from his eyes as he spoke. "Blaine sweetie, your letter said the same. You've been accepted too."

Blaine watched Kurt for a moment, his mouth dropping in awe until he finally sprang to life.

"What?" He asked, reaching over to grab Kurt's arm to read the letter. There it was: in print. Almost an exact copy to Kurt's letter, only slightly different. Blaine didn't bother reading most of it, already knowing the jist of what half of it said. His eyes lingered on that opening sentence, the same that he had just read out for Kurt only moments ago.

_'We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into our music education program'._

"Oh my god," He breathed out, understanding suddenly exactly how Kurt must have felt only moments before. How he must have felt when he realized that not only had a little piece of his own dream fallen into place, but he actually got the chance to pursue it with his boyfriend right beside him, pursuing his very own dream as he did so.

"Kurt – oh my god. Oh my god we're going to New York. Kurt. We're going to New York _together_. Kurt. Oh my god -"

He was cut off as Kurt leant over and pulled him in for a kiss. Blaine could taste the salt from the tears that Kurt was crying – happy tears, because the two of them had finally, finally made it – and Blaine moved his hand behind the younger boys head so that he could pull him in closer.

Kurt was just as ecstatic as Blaine was, if not more so. He felt as if he was floating on clouds, and he might as well have been. Finally, everything was beginning to go as he wanted. He had made it – _they_ had made it. All the tears that he had shed with Rachel when the two of them thought their respective dreams would be dashed, that competition would be too fierce to get into the college they all wanted and they would have to settle for something lower - all of that seemed like a lifetime away now. All the anxiety and worry of the possibility of having to say goodbye to Blaine, of having to settle for a long distance relationship from across states – perhaps even from across an ocean – had disappeared. Because now, now none of that was going to happen. He had got into the college that he had also dreamed of, and he was taking his man along with him. It was the perfect scenario, the one that he dreamt of but tried hard not to get his hopes up about – because he knew there was a strong chance it wouldn't happen. But it had, and now he _could_ think about it. As much as he wanted to. They could plan it, they could live the dream.

"Where else did you apply too?" Kurt asked, placing another kiss onto his boyfriends' lips. He didn't have to know, but the curiosity had been killing him for months. Blaine knew about the offer in Paris that he had received early on, but Kurt had no idea where else Blaine had even sent his applications to.

"I sent one to a college in California," Blaine replied, kissing Kurt as the other boy pulled away slightly to let him speak. "One to California, and one to Harvard, just to keep my father quiet. Harvard didn't accept me though, so California was my fall back. Not that any of that really matters anymore."

"Hmmm," Kurt hummed, moving to bring Blaine into a hug, resting his chin on the smaller boys shoulder. "We're going to New York, Blaine."

It didn't matter where else Blaine had applied too. They both knew that Blaine's heart had been set on New York just as much as Kurt's had been, and that the other two colleges had only acted as backups and distractions to make it appear that Blaine was interested in other options. None of that mattered any longer though.

"I know baby. I can't believe it. God – I'm going to New York with_ you_."

Kurt let out a small chuckle of laughter, pulling away slightly so he could look at his boyfriend. He wiped his eyes slightly, still glistening with the tears that were falling, before the both of them let out a small laugh.

"We need to phone Rachel later. She's been dying to find out if we got accepted or not for days now. She'll be ecstatic to find out she's not going off to New York by herself."

As if on cue, the sound of a phone ringing went off, and both Kurt and Blaine turned to look at it. As Kurt's ringtone rang clear in the room, he rolled his eyes, moving to go answer it.

"Speak of the devil," He picked it up, Blaine laughing slightly as he watched him. "Rachel? No we just opened them – no literally: we _just_ opened them. Well if you let me get a word in edgeways I'd tell you. Rach – just – Rachel! Stop. Please. Look – I'm – I'm putting you on speakerphone now okay? Yes – just – shut up for a moment."

Kurt pulled the phone away from his ear, clicking a button on it and moving to sit next to Blaine again, lying the phone down between them so they could both speak.

"There, _now_ speak Rachel. Blaine can hear you too now."

"Blaine Warbler! I want to know right now if you and Kurt have got accepted or not. Although considering that Kurt actually answered the phone instead of letting it go to voicemail, I am assuming it is nothing but good news that you have to share with me. Which if it is, this means we must all meet up and plan for our new lives together."

Kurt groaned, knowing all too well there was no way to stop Rachel from whatever track she was currently caught on.

"Rachel?" Blaine asked, and the phone went quiet for a moment as Rachel waited for him to continue. "It was good news. Kurt and I will be joining you in your New York adventures."

There was squeal on the other end of the phone, and both Kurt and Blaine smiled at each other as they heard it.

"Oh my god this is fantastic! I'm so happy for you two! Of course New York only accepts the best, and they must have seen what talent we have and noticed how much we deserve to be there. We need to start discussing our plans for when we move out there as soon as possible though. There's so much we need to plan! Like are we all getting an apartment together? Or do you two want one alone? Or are we going to stay on campus? The campus is beautiful anyway, so I really wouldn't be opposed to it -"

Kurt and Blaine both looked at each other, both of them amused as Rachel continued to plan over the phone. Blaine reached out and grabbed a hold of Kurt's hand, griping it tightly. Kurt squeezed back, and they both smiled at each other.

For the first time in what felt like almost forever, there was no fear of the future: only optimism as they allowed themselves to think of what they had to look forward too. Together.

* * *

><p>Okay, so here's the deal. I have been working on different parts of this college fic for months now. I'm not even joking, it has seriously been that long. I originally wrote a chapter back in February just for fun, and that was shortly after I wrote 'Silk Scarves and Guitar Strings'. Since then, I have since been experimenting and writing various scenes and scenarios that will happen in the future of this story. After finally thinking about and it and actually understanding just how many months this has been tucked away on my computer, I have finally decided to upload it. I have considered putting it on different websites, from livejournal to tumblr, and for now I have decided to post it here.<p>

This is a sort of taster really to see how things go. I have a lot of things planned and a lot of things already written for this, and I'm really looking forward to getting them out. I'm not sure how long it will take, but I really, really want to post them. I don't know what sort of time frame will be between updates, but hopefully, there shouldn't be too much of a delay.

This chapter is a newer one. I've been writing this over the past two days and err - I'm not sure how I feel about it. But it's the beginning, so I'll forgive it. Of course this is going to be it's own little universe, and what a strange little universe it will be :)


	2. Prologue Part 2

Kurt leapt out of the taxi and moved to stand on the pathway, looking around at the tall buildings surrounding him. A huge grin spread across his face, and he breathed in deeply as he continued to stare in awe.

He had been here before, a few times in fact, but this time it was different. This time, he wasn't going to stay for just a few days. Everything around him seemed so much more different in comparison, and Kurt knew that it was because now he didn't have to rush to do everything he still had left to do in the busy city. That now he was living there, he could do what he liked when he pleased. This was his city now, his home. And his heart soared as that thought come to the front of his mind, making his grin grow even larger.

"I get that you're excited, but could you at least spare a few seconds from the daydreaming to help with the luggage?"

Interrupted from his thoughts, Kurt turned on his heel, noticing his boyfriend struggling with their luggage.

"Oh!" Kurt said, rushing over to his side before one of the boxes went flying to the ground. "You know, it would probably help if you carried things one at a time Blaine, instead of carrying about three things at once."

Kurt looked down at the box he had saved from being crushed, and his eyebrow rose as he read the words that we're written on it in black marker.

"Especially when your carrying objects that are labeled as 'fragile'."

Blaine - who had been struggling with a suitcase, finally set it to the side of the road, sparing a moment to look at Kurt before grabbing the last two boxes that were remaining in the small taxi.

"I was aiming for just getting everything out of the car, actually," He replied, placing the two boxes on the roadside and turning to the taxi driver to hand over the money they owed him. Once the taxi driver was happy and walking back to his car, Blaine turned around to face Kurt and the luggage properly, his eye's widening as he noticed just how many boxes there were - and only about one or two of them being his.

"Jesus Kurt, I thought you said you'd moved most of your stuff in when you helped Rachel to move in?"

"I did."

"Then what are all these boxes for?"

"Just the other things I needed to bring with me. There's not much, I already had to narrow down what clothes I was taking with me. If you think this is impressive, you should have seen the first pile that I had organized."

Blaine just looked at Kurt, his expression slightly shocked. He knew he should be used to this by now, but he just wasn't. It still managed to surprise him when it came to things like how much stuff Kurt would take with him on trips, even if the trip was something as simple as a weekend away. Stuff that Kurt really didn't actually need all that much. And Blaine also knew that more than half of the boxes that were sitting beside them were filled with clothes. Still, he decided it was best not to mention to Kurt that there was a strong possibility he had brought too much with him, especially seeing as they both knew he would just end up buying a lot more clothes than what he already had. He had, after all tried pointing such a thing out before, and learnt very quickly that it was much easier to say nothing at all.

So, instead, he sighed and pushed his hands deep into his coat pocket. For the time of month that it was, it was unusually cold.

"So how long do you reckon it'll take until Finn and Puck will get here?"

"Not long. Rachel sent a text that they were all on their way just as we left the hotel, and just as long as she's with them, there's a very slim chance that we'll be sitting here for hours waiting whilst Finn and Puck get themselves lost around New York."

"Hey, we totally would not get lost."

As if on cue, both Blaine and Kurt turned and noticed Finn, Puck, and Rachel standing there. Rachel had a huge grin plastered across her face, obviously still on a high for finally achieving half of her dream and finally beginning to live it, a feeling that both Blaine and Kurt could relate very well to. Finn and Puck on the otherhand couldn't look any more indifferent. But that could easily have been to do with the fact that as soon as they were finished with helping them out, they were both set to make their own way back home to sort out their own preparations for their colleges.

"Oh come on Noah, you got lost last night trying to find the pizza place down the road."

"And I told you, we should have just ordered the pizza instead of sending out a search party for it."

"Oh - whatever. Kurt! Isn't this just amazing!" Rachel said, rushing over to her best friend and leaving the conversation she was having with Puck before as if it was boring her. She pulled Kurt into a tight hug, and Kurt let out a small 'oomf' before laughing as he put his arms around her.

"Careful Rachel, you almost knocked me to the ground then!"

"Hey man," Finn said, nodding at Blaine as Kurt and Rachel began to gossip with each other. Blaine, who had been smiling stupidly at the two of them acting so enthusiastic about being back in New York again - turned back to Finn, his grin never leaving his face.

"Hey Finn. What's this about a pizza hunt last night?"

"Oh, dude. There's the pizza place down the road from the college. It's awesome. They do take out and everything. Rachel forced us to go and eat out there last night, saying something like she couldn't wait till you two showed up to have her first meal in the city and that we needed to have a meal together before me and Puck disappeared. Puck got lost."

"Don't make it sound like I got lost so easily. I took a shortcut. _Then_ I got lost." Puck glanced at the boxes and suitcases that were waiting to be picked up, and his eyebrows shot up. "How many of them are Hummels?"

"Most of them."

"…. We already had to help him with three boxes the other day."

"And this time Puck, be careful with the boxes you carry. I still haven't forgiven you for that last box you dropped." Kurt added, before turning back to continue his conversation with Rachel.

"Dude, you should have said that there was like, glass in that box!"

"Whatever. Come on lets get this stuff off the path before people think we're camping out on the street for the night."

At Finn's comment, everyone turned and helped to pick up Kurt and Blaine's belongings; with Kurt hurrying to carry the two boxes he didn't trust the others to take in fear of them being dropped. Once everyone was ready, they began the slow trek back to college - to the new places that would become home to Kurt, Blaine and Rachel for the next few years.

"So, remind me again why Hummel's rooming with Rachel and not you Blaine?" Puck asked after a few moments of silence had passed, a bag thrown over his shoulder (Blaine's) and a box carried in his arms (one of Kurt's again). Blaine - dragging his own suitcase with him - shrugged in response, having felt like the question had already been asked and answered about a hundred times.

"Rachel said she would feel more comfortable with someone she knew as a roommate, and both Kurt and I decided that instead of three of us driving each other insane in one of the tiny dorm rooms, it would probably be better not to dorm together. At least not for the first year."

"Sounds stupid if you ask me. Where's the fun if your not all dorming together dude?"

"It's not like we're never going to hang out. Chances are, we'll be spending a lot of time with together, helping each other out or just hanging out. It made sense at the time. And I'm only going to be just down the corridor, so it's almost as if we will be dorming together."

Puck just shrugged at Blaine's explanation, deciding that obviously the answer wasn't as interesting as he had originally been hoping for. Blaine didn't mind however. The decision may have seemed confusing to Puck, or to anyone else, but to the three of them it made sense. Rachel had expressed that she didn't feel comfortable living by herself or with someone she didn't know - especially if she discovered that any roommate she shared a room with could clash with her rather specific opinions. Kurt had wanted to share a room with Blaine originally, assuming that it was just how things were going to fall into place. However, when they discussed what would happen in more detail they had both decided that maybe it would be best if they tried to settle into the college lifestyle first. Kurt had admitted to being concerned about Rachel and her wishes, and they knew that one room alone would not fit all three of them in together. Blaine on the other hand - who had been used to dorming by himself during his days in Dalton - didn't mind sharing with someone else. In fact, after much discussion, he had quite liked the idea, deciding that college was a time in which they should be broadening their horizons and getting to know more people. Eventually, they had decided that Kurt would be sharing a room with Rachel, and Blaine would share a room with someone else, just literally a few doors away from them. They all knew that they could visit each other at any time, and when they actually thought about it, the group of friends realized that really they would still see each other a lot, and that the arrangement would actually be a good thing when they all got busy with their various different classes.

The group continued walking to the campus, Rachel and Kurt in front having an overly excitable conversation about … were they discussing what colour paint to decorate their dorm? Blaine was sure that they wouldn't be allowed to change the colour of the walls. But he couldn't interrupt them and point that out, as Finn had chosen that moment to begin a rather in depth conversation with him about the latest game he'd brought, and how even though they were all at different colleges now that they should all continue their online gaming nights (and Blaine was worried about what that meant, because he knew that Wes and David got entirely too into video game nights, so much so that they sometimes forgot about their own work).

" - I mean, Rachel and Kurt aren't huge gamers, but maybe you can persuade them to join in too? Sam would totally be up for it, same with Artie. Dude, all the guys would. After all, we still need to kick your friends asses after that one time in Call of Duty …"

"Yeah, dude, how did your friend even _do_ that? It was just badass." Puck added in, deciding that the topic at hand was one that he actually had some interest in.

Blaine shrugged, only really half listening to the conversation. "He's Asian."

"Yeah … but so's Mike, and even he couldn't understand what the hell happened. Or how all our characters died."

"But I doubt that Mike spends most of his time playing video games, especially since he has Tina. Wes on the other hand, well, video games are pretty much his life."

"Still -" Finn said, interrupting the debate that Puck and Blaine were currently having "- we still have to have our video game nights. Even if it's just one night a week or something. It'll be a good way for all of us to you know, keep in contact and stuff."

Both Puck and Blaine nodded in agreement, and the three of them continued their conversation whilst Kurt and Rachel rolled their eyes. The two of them had overheard the whole thing, and neither one of them understood what the appeal was with video games. They exchanged a knowing look at one another, one that sent a quiet message that said that video games were definitely banned in the room they were sharing, unless they were karaoke games. Kurt sighed, and Rachel's smile grew wide, pulling the single box she was carrying closer to her as they continued to walk ahead.

"They won't have time for their big boy games most of the time anyway, so I doubt we'll be woken up at three in the morning."

"Oh believe me Rachel, you would not be saying that if you had the opportunity to dorm at Dalton." Kurt replied, raising an eyebrow slightly. "They'll find the time. They always do. Especially if Wes and David are involved. I remember this one time when Wes managed to sneak in my room somehow whilst I was sleeping, and he woke me up by putting the sound on as high as it would go and playing a game with loads of explosions."

"Why did you even leave the door unlocked?"

"That's just it. I don't remember doing so. And I never did figure out how he managed to sneak in."

Rachel spent a moment to think about that as they turned another corner that led them nearer to the college campus. She soon perked up, glancing back at Kurt again as she continued to speak.

"Well, lets reach that hurdle when - and if - we ever get there. Until then, you have got to help me with sorting out where things go in our room. I wanted to move some of the stuff around yesterday, but one: I'm not too sure what the best layout is which is one reason why I need your expert knowledge on that, and two: I didn't want to start moving stuff for you to decide you didn't like it."

Kurt smiled, looking back at Rachel with a warm expression on his own face.

"We'll sort it out."

* * *

><p>They eventually all reached the campus, and soon found their ways back to the dorms. The group left Kurt and Blaine's boxes in their respective rooms - which included more comments on just how much stuff Kurt had managed to bring with him and questions of 'was he sure he really needed all these things?', to which Kurt would answer that 'yes, he was more than sure that he needed everything he had packed' and 'yes, everything would fit in the small dorm room he shared with Rachel perfectly fine, thank you very much'. Blaine left his boxes unpacked and near the bed that he had quickly claimed in his room, deciding that as his roommate wasn't about yet, he would unpack later.<p>

All five of them spent some time chatting, excitement bubbling from Rachel and Kurt, whilst Blaine just continued to smile at them as Puck and Finn teased them about getting so excited about college. The time passed quickly however, and it seemed all too soon for the group of friends that Puck and Finn had to leave to make their way back home. Blaine agreed to help them get a taxi, and Rachel and Kurt decided that whilst they had some time it would be good to get started on sorting out the room they shared. So, after a quick goodbye which involved a lot of hugs, a few tears from Rachel, and many promises to keep in contact and to have fun, they all moved their separate ways.

Moving the furniture around to suit both Kurt and Rachel's preferences was easier then they thought, and it wasn't long until Kurt was sorting his clothes out, deciding what would take pride of place in his wardrobe and what would stay in a suitcase that would be shoved under his bed until it was needed. Knowing that she would be of no help if she touched any of Kurt's clothes, Rachel decided to continue sorting out the last few things she had left to unpack herself, which included some soft toys she had brought with her, a few pillows that Kurt tried very hard not to point out clashed with each other in terms of colour, and some posters.

As she moved to hang one of the posters up - one which Kurt noted was Audrey Hepburn in her 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' outfit - Rachel paused, taking a moment to look out of the window that was overlooking the landscape. She could see the tall buildings of the city that surrounded them, see the grounds below them. The green grass of the fields, the lamposts that illuminated the city, the trees that provided a shadowed place to study on the grounds. A smile made it's way across her face, and she felt her heart begin to flutter ever so slightly within her inside of her chest. This is where Rachel Berry belonged. This was her home, and it still managed to take her breath away that finally, _finally_, she was beginning to live her dream of being in New York.

"Can you believe that we're actually here?"

Kurt - who was busy deciding between two outfits and whether or not he'd be likely to wear them in the next few days - tore his eyes away from them long enough to turn and look at where Rachel was looking out of the window. He understood what she meant. To him, it was still very much like living a dream that they were finally in New York, and that it wasn't just for a week, or for a few days. Sure, they still had a long way to go until they were close to actually fulfilling their dreams completely, but it still felt - magical.

"No," He answered after a moment of silence. "But I think that's because it hasn't really settled in yet that we made it."

Rachel pulled away from the window long enough to glance at Kurt, before turning back to it, mesmerized by the view it provided.

"Finn. Last night. When Puck was out trying to find somewhere that would sell him a drink - he mentioned something. He said to me, 'don't get your hopes up. Don't get too excited about everything working out perfectly first time. But at the same time, don't let yourself be heartbroken by things if they don't go like you dreamed'."

Kurt smiled, sitting down on his bed as he did so, watching as Rachel continued to look out of the window thoughtfully.

"That might have been one of the smartest things Finn's ever said."

There was another pause, and Kurt frowned slightly, letting his step-brothers words seep into his mind.

"It's true though. It's not going to be easy. I mean, we're all going to be busy, all three of us. You with your acting, me with the fashion, and Blaine with his music course. And it is going to be a struggle to find work in the areas that we want to at first. I mean, we could easily be working in some pretty terrible places just to scrap in money to begin with, as much as I hate to admit it. And I really don't want to be working in some fast food place. Can you imagine what that would do to my skin?" He paused, raising an eyebrow and shuddering at the thought of having to wear one those hideous uniforms. "But, even saying that - I think everything will work out eventually."

"Think?" Rachel turned, looking at Kurt as he turned to face her. Kurt noticed that her expression had changed, that it wasn't as dreamlike as he had imagined from her tone of voice when she was looking out the window before, and that instead it was full of her usual determination. "Kurt Hummel, is 'think' the best you have? With our talent, we'll take New York by storm. They'll be _begging_ to take us on."

Kurt smiled, trying to hold in a laugh. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, silence filling the air around them. Finally, he picked up a pillow that was near him - one of Rachel's colour clashing monsters - and threw it in Rachel's direction. She let out a squeak, and it sent Kurt into laughter.

"What was that for?"

"You we're turning into diva Rachel again. Not that that's a bad thing, but I really _do_ need to finish unpacking my clothes…"

He stood up, moving to continue with what he had been sorting through before. Rachel on the other hand just watched him, shocked for a moment until she sprung back to life.

"Oh you think you're getting away that easily?" Rachel said as Kurt continued to search through his clothes. A grin was spread across his face, but it was soon wiped off with the sound of a thump hitting his head and the impact of softness that followed.

"Rachel!" He shouted, turning and looking to the ground where the pillow she had thrown at him lay. Her own laughter filled the room then, and Kurt picked it up, throwing it back in her direction.

The room was soon filled with giggling and squeals from both of the two friends, and neither noticed as Blaine appeared again, cautiously walking towards their room. He watched the two of them as they continued on with their pillow fight, confused and wondering just what it was he had missed when he had seen Finn and Puck off. It wasn't until an accidental pillow hit him in the face that Rachel and Kurt realised he was back, and they both watched him in silent horror as he blinked, and then looked back between the two of them.

"I can't believe you're having a pillow fight while I'm not here. What the hell guys?"

Blaine - not wanting to feel left out at what was happening - picked up the pillow that Rachel had thrown in his direction and threw it at Kurt, causing her to laugh as Kurt squeaked and tried to dodge it unsuccessfully. He turned and glared at his boyfriend, and once noticing that both Blaine and Rachel were laughing Kurt picked up two pillows, and threw one at each of them. The three of them quickly resumed their pillow fight, the room being filled with their fits of laughter, and the task of unpacking forgotten for the next few hours.

* * *

><p>And thus concludes the prologue stage of this story (I know, it was long. Even to be split into two parts. But the story was originally written without the prologue, and I thought that it was missing something without it. That, and I wanted to get it really kicking off once they'd finally arrived and started sorting out their college things. Now however, there's a little bit more to get stuck into). Next chapter, we'll start to explore more of the actual college life that the group of friends will be living together, as well as Blaine discovering a rather unusual and unexpected face from the past. I'm not sure if the chapter will be up as quick as this one was, as I'm still looking over it and and the moment - I think it's bit too short, so I'm currently battling with deciding to combine or adding more to it. But keep a look out for it, as things finally start to get a bit more interesting from that point.<p>

And no, Puck and Finn have not disappeared forever. They will appear again, that I can promise.


	3. Chapter 1

Blaine walked into the music room, looking around him as he did so.

He had decided that to better benefit him later, it would probably be a good idea to explore the surroundings whilst he had an opportunity, thus avoiding having to do so when classes finally started up. And what better place would there be for him to start then that of where he would probably be spending a lot of time when working on his studies.

Blaine noted that the room itself was different in comparison from what he what he had been used to back at Dalton, but he also decided that he liked it better somehow. It was a bit more crowded then he expected, and he assumed that those also in the room were either new students who had had the same idea as himself, or older students returning from a long summer break. Still, the room still managed to have a relaxing atmosphere about it.

There were bookcases filled with books, all of which covered various different topics revolving around music. Blaine felt himself smile as he walked over to one of the bookcases, deciding to flick through some of the titles while he was there. He passed by a student who's nose was stuck in a book, and another who was carrying a guitar case in his hand. Blaine had opted to leave his own guitar in his dorm room. His roommate still had as of yet to make an appearance, so he was sure that it would remain safe there for the time being.

As he picked up one of the books on the shelf and began to flick through it (''I'll be Bach' - Classical music and you' Really? Who even thought of these titles?) Blaine didn't notice the sound of footsteps that were approaching him until he felt something tap him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me."

Broken from his train of thought, he turned his head slightly in the direction of the voice. There, standing tall was a man, probably no older than Blaine was himself. He looked slightly familiar, but Blaine couldn't pinpoint where he had seen his face before. The man was wearing a brown, leather jacket with a Wicked top underneath - a fan of the musical none the less, and Blaine thought that Kurt would probably be glad to know that yet another person shared his love for it. His hair was curlier than Blaine's, which was a challenge since Blaine had decided to let loose on the gel slightly over the summer, and he wondered if maybe, perhaps if he grew his hair out slightly, that his would strangely resemble the same effect like the persons in front of him.

"I sort of - need to look for something. So if you could..."

The man continued to watch him, as if expecting Blaine to do something. For a moment Blaine looked back at him, his eyebrows drawn together into confusion until understanding dawned on him.

"Oh! Sorry." He said, standing and moving out of the way of the bookcase so that the other man could find what it was he was looking for.

Blaine decided to move and sit down at one of the tables in the room, realising that standing about really wasn't benefiting anyone and he was in fact, just in the way really. He continued to flick through the book he had picked up, although by which stage he had deemed it useless - and not as interesting as the cover and title may have led him to originally believe. Eventually, he gave up on it. As he pushing the book away on the table, Blaine noticed another book sitting there. One that was instead filled with sheet music. Interest suddenly sparked once again, Blaine reached over and picked up, deciding that at least he might be able to find something in it.

He soon found a selection of different songs that he considered attempting to play at some point, finding ways as to how he could make each piece become something special, different from how they were usually performed. He was too absorbed in the book to notice as someone sat across from him. It wasn't until the person coughed - one that he was sure was meant just to catch his attention - that Blaine looked over the top of his book, and was surprised to see the man from before looking back at him. Or more, looking at the book that he had picked up.

"That is exactly the book I was looking for."

Blaine slid the book away from his face, prompting the other man to look at him. He rose an eyebrow slightly, and wondered to himself how he was supposed to reply to that. He didn't have to however, as the man continued to speak.

"If I had known it was laying on the table, I wouldn't have tried searching for it over there -" Blaine watched as he waved his hand in the vague direction as to where they had been standing previously before. The man turned back to look at him, and Blaine continued to watch him as a smirk appeared on the other mans face.

"What would it take for you to hand the book over?"

"... Excuse me?" Blaine asked, slightly stunned. Because well, it was just a book. Couldn't the guy wait?

"I'll trade you another book! A better book. I just - I really need that one."

"Can't you just ... wait? I mean, not to seem rude, but I'll be finished with it soon. Then you can have it."

The man sighed, and turned his glance to look down at the table instead, tapping on it lightly with his fingers as he did so.

"Your right. I'm sorry. I'll wait. _I guess_."

Blaine watched him for a moment, before continuing to what it was he had been doing before. Okay. It was a good thing he wasn't desperate for the book, otherwise he was sure that he wouldn't have been able to avoid an oncoming argument. And that was the last thing he wanted. If there was one thing Blaine wanted to do in college other than to learn and succeed, it was to make friends: not enemies.

After a few moments of silence had passed between the two of them, Blaine couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy. He couldn't quite figure out why, but something just didn't seem right. It was if - as if someone were watching him. Curious, he glanced towards the man sitting ahead of him once more - only to be met with him staring right back at him.

Oh. Right. That would explain the sense of unease.

"Okay-" Blaine began, setting the book down on the table in front of him. "Why are you staring at me?"

"I'm sorry!" The man replied, his eyes going wide as he raised his hands in defence. "It's just - you look really familiar and I can't figure out why."

Confusion fell over Blaine once more as he continued to look at the man across from him. Blaine had ignored the feeling of familiarity he had felt earlier - pushing it aside and deciding that he was probably just mixing the guy up with someone else that he knew. But now that the man across from him seemed to recognize him also, he was just bewildered. And if he were being honest, the staring from before _was_ uncomfortable, and he wasn't quite sure how he felt around the guy sitting across from him.

"What state are you from?"

Blaine crossed his arms, watching the man in front of him as he replied.

"Ohio. Why?"

As soon as he had said the name, the other man's eyes widened.

"What school?"

"Dalton Academy. Why are you -"

"Okay, _now_ it makes sense," the other man interrupted. "You didn't look like you were from McKinley, and I would definitely know if you were. But Dalton - yeah I think I get it now. I'm guessing you were one of those singing birds weren't you?"

"The Warblers..." Blaine replied, growing even more confused as he did so. Because seriously? How _did_ this guy know him and - what did he even mean by remembering him if he went to McKinley?

"Yeah! Those!" He said, growing excited suddenly. "I think I remember now. You were their frontman or something? Always dancing around the stage."

Blaine just stared back at him, unable to understand what was happening. He was really, really _concerned_ as to how this guy knew of him. Did he have a stalker he didn't know about until now? Oh god, he hoped he didn't. Because he didn't have any idea how he would go about with dealing with and avoiding a stalker.

"You have no idea who I am do you?"

At the question, Blaine felt himself come back from where he had retreated into his troubled mind, finding that the other man was now watching him closely.

"Not a clue." He replied, shaking his head slightly as he did so.

The man sat back in his chair, looking as if he couldn't believe that Blaine didn't know who he was (should he? Blaine was sure that the guy wasn't famous or anything. And if he was - why would he be sitting across from him in a college?).

"I was in Vocal Adrenaline. We sang against each other in Sectionals of 2009. And we _totally_ beat your ass!"

Oh. Okay. Now Blaine knew who he was. Well, not exactly_ who_ he was. But he felt slightly better realising that the guy sitting across from him was from an old competing glee club, and not just a random stalker. Although Blaine didn't like how proud he seemed to be over a competition that had taken place years ago. And it wasn't as if they had 'totally beaten them' as he had suggested. From what Blaine could vaguely remember of the events that had happened, they had not won by any sort of landslide, and the Warblers had been weak that year after spending most of their time arguing over their set list.

"Why the long face eyebrows? That competition was years ago. Surely your not still sore about it?"

"Eyebrows?" Blaine replied, wondering what on earth had sparked that particular comment. Still, he didn't have any time in which to form a reply: as another voice joined their conversation.

"Jesse! Are you pestering the new students again?"

Both sets of eyes turned in the direction of the new voice, noticing a girl who was clutching her own books to her chest. She glared at the man - or Jesse, as she had called out - from where she was beside the table, and Blaine just glanced back from one to the other quickly.

"Pestering people? Me? No way. Why would I do that? What makes you think I'd _ever_ do that."

The girl walked towards the two of them, glancing at Blaine for a brief moment before sending her attention back to Jesse again.

"Because you've pestered three already this morning about books you don't even need. Honestly, stop being a nuisance and just leave people to their own business's."

"But I was just reminiscing with my new friend here!"

"I'm not your friend." Blaine chipped in, but his voice went unheard as the girl continued.

"….Jesse _I just saw you_. The poor guy was looking as confused as anything a moment ago, and you were just laughing. And if I know you, that usually means trouble."

"Go away." Jesse replied, trying to wave the girl away as if she were a nothing but a fly on the wall. "You are not invited to this discussion. Guys only."

The girl sighed, rolling her eyes as she did so.

"I'll never understand why they ever let you back into this college. Especially since we all know that you decided to drop out of your old one."

Blaine, poor Blaine, who was left only to observe the ongoing argument between the two of them, knew then that he really didn't want to be there any longer. Any urge he had to find some songs to mess around with and play on his guitar later had long since disappeared, and he definitely didn't want to make any enemies on his first week (or, ever really. Blaine liked to be liked). If he just walked away, maybe he would be lucky enough to never bump into the guy again, and they could bother continue on with their somewhat normal, very separate lives…

"I'm just going to go -" he found himself saying, only just realising once he found his voice that he had already got up out of his seat and had begun backtracking away from the two of them. Both Jesse and the girl turned to look at him, Jesse with a smug expression on his face as if he was a cat that had just caught his prize (which Blaine guessed he had, as he watched him quickly snatch the book he had previously been reading from from off the table), and the girl sending him a sympathetic look as she turned to face Blaine.

"Oh don't feel you have to leave just because of St. James here. Jesse just doesn't know how to share or be nice to other people. Really, just tell him to get lost and he'll leave you alone eventually."

"Not going to happen." Jesse said, rising his voice over the girls so that he could be heard. He flicked through the book he had picked up as he continued to speak "I'm not leaving this table for a while now. I'm comfortable. And I'm more than convinced this is actually the book I wanted. I think. Maybe."

Both the girl and Blaine watched Jesse with a strange expression on their faces, before turning to face each other. Blaine noticed that she was still looking at him as if she could wish that Jesse had never bothered him, and Blaine just shrugged his shoulders in return.

"Really, it's fine. I should probably be going anyway."

And at that, Blaine quickly turned and hurried off, leaving the two of them at the table.

He rushed down the corridor, avoiding bumping into the few other people who were walking about as well. Once he turned the corner, he slowed down to a walking pace, glad that he had escaped whatever the hell had just been happening back then.

Blaine secretly hoped that he wouldn't meet others like the guy he had just met. He would have to thank the girl later though for sticking her nose in. That was, if he ever saw her again around the big campus. Still, he couldn't ignore that the guy's name had seemed pretty familiar somehow. He wasn't sure why, because Blaine was pretty sure he had never had a conversation before with him - he would have remembered, if the previous one that had just unraveled was anything to go by. But still … it wasn't the first time he had heard that name. But where had he heard it before?

Blaine shook his head, continuing to walk down the corridor. It didn't matter anyway. He was likely to never see him again - thank god. The campus was huge, and it was a pretty good possibility that they wouldn't even be in the same classes together. Good, he thought, because a class with Jesse would be a nightmare -

And then suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks, his feet frozen to the spot. Realization had finally dawned on him, the jigsaw pieces slotting into place as he remembered what exact words had only just been spoken.

The girl had called him _Jesse St. James_.

Blaine _could _remember seeing the face before, roughly remembering the frontman from Vocal Adrenaline all those years ago. But the name was what reminded him more than anything that he knew _of_ this guy at least, even if it was only on a second hand basis. Jesse had dropped out of his first college and then returned back to Ohio. And Blaine could remember it as clear as the light of day, because he was suddenly reminded of a particular day in an all too familiar coffee shop with a scowling Kurt sitting across from him. A day that had taken place in the first few months that they had started dating. And Blaine could remember how Kurt had spoken to him about how his day had gone at McKinley, and about how everything was good, apart from one idiot who had decided to suddenly make a reappearance in their Glee club to 'help them out' and was instead giving them all terrible advice and telling everyone they were useless as singers and - _oh_.

Blaine had just met the idiot that was Jesse St. James.

And now he knew that, Blaine hoped more than anything that he didn't run into him again, if past stories were anything to go by.

* * *

><p>This chapter was difficult! I've literally changed so much in it. Originally, Jesse was pestering Blaine about a piano, and not about some silly song book that the two of them had grown interested over. But when I looked over it again a few days ago, I decided that I wanted to change it as I wasn't happy with it at all. So I apologize id this seems slightly choppy, or dull. Next chapter though, next chapter will be more fun. And that one is already all written out, and I doubt that it'll need too much changing - so hopefully it'll be uploaded soon.<p>

Also, I am going over some things in the chapters I have written for later and tweaking and editing things (as well as poking more chapters into some places). I have a little bit more with Rachel planned than I had originally, and I'm very excited to get to start writing that. Hopefully we'll see how it all goes and if things go right they'll make it to the final draft. We'll see how it all goes though :)


	4. Chapter 2

Kurt flicked through his copy of the latest Vouge magazine, the two coffee's he had ordered sitting on the table as he waited for Blaine to arrive. He had received a text not too long beforehand letting him know that Blaine would show up soon, and so Kurt had thought ahead and reserved the table that they had already claimed as their own in the short few days they had been in their new college.

His eyes glanced over the models in the magazine, and Kurt's mind was working like clockwork to figure out which clothes he'd most likely purchase if he had all the money in the world. There were the odd few items that he most definitely _had _to buy, regardless of the price tag, and he mentally reminded himself that he was living in New York now, so those clothes were just out there waiting, almost calling out for him to buy them.

He had just noticed a particularly nice scarf that he had decided he needed to add to his collection - one could never have enough scarves, even if others would disagree with him - when Kurt heard the thump of someone sitting down in the chair across from him. Not looking up as he flipped to the next page in his magazine, Kurt began to speak.

"Did you have fun searching around the campus?"

There was a small groan, and he shot a quick glance up in Blaine's direction, watching as his dark haired boyfriend slunk down in his seat slightly and rolled his eyes.

"If by 'fun' you mean 'getting lost and ending up in the theatre department' or 'being bombarded by insane people', then yes. Everything went ahead successfully."

Kurt sighed, pulling a little triangle at the corner of the page to mark the place he was on in his magazine before closing it, and looking at Blaine with a smile and a sympathetic expression. He reached his hand across the table, clutching Blaine's and rubbing smooth circles on the top of it with his thumb.

"That's college for you. There's going to be a lot of insanity about. Which is probably why it's a good thing we're not in the same college as Puck. As for the getting lost thing … that'll stop when things eventually settle down."

Blaine - who had picked up his coffee to drink with his free hand - raised an eyebrow in Kurt's direction.

"You make that sound like you've been here a lot longer than I have."

"No. I'm just stating the obvious." Kurt chuckled, his eye's falling to where both his hand and Blaine's met from across the table. "You seem to forget who it was who got lost trying to find their way back to their own dorm room two nights ago."

"Oh yes. How could I forget Rachel's frantic phone call at one in the morning calling for a search party?"

"Yes. How could you forget." Kurt took a sip of his own drink, before continuing. "Really, it's a good thing your roommate hasn't shown up yet. Otherwise, they would have thought their was a fire by how she acted."

"She was just concerned, Kurt. It was sweet. But : next time maybe you should send her a text or a call when you decide to crash at mine after you finally find your way back to the dorms."

"…You make it sound like I plan on getting lost a lot."

"No. That's not what I meant," Blaine paused, shaking his head and stiffling his own laughter as he did so. "What I meant was, whenever you escape your dorm late at night or early morning, tell her or leave a note. Otherwise she'll break out into frantic search party mode again."

"… So : are you suggesting…" Kurt said, looking at Blaine directly as he let the sentence drift into the air.

There was a pause, and Blaine let out a small sigh, smiling at Kurt sadly before looking down at the table between them.

"I wasn't actually. And even if I was, I would say no. For now!" Blaine added noticing the expression that had fallen over Kurt's face then. "Not for a little while at least anyway. I - walked past my dorm on the way here, and I saw a bunch of boxes outside. Looks like my roommates finally showed up."

Kurt suddenly sat up in his seat, his eyes brightening up slightly at Blaine's words - his earlier expression disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. He couldn't help but admit that he was excited. After all, he had been wondering for a while what sort of person would be Blaine's roommate.

"They've moved in? Have you seen them yet?"

"No, not yet."

"But when you do - you have to let me know what they're like."

Blaine gave Kurt an incredulous look, putting his cup down on the table with the hand that wasn't currently intertwined with Kurt's.

"But - I thought you'd be with me when I finally got to meet them. That way we could find out what they're like together."

Kurt's eye's widened in a split second of shock, before relaxing into a soft expression. He smiled back at Blaine, and clasped tighter onto his hand. He hadn't been expecting him to say that, let alone ask that of him, and Kurt couldn't help but feel his heart leap slightly in his chest, the feeling that Blaine wanted him by his side when he met his new roommate making Kurt feel giddy with excitement.

"Of course. If that's what you want. Although I don't see why you need me there…"

"I just - I want you there, Kurt. Because I don't know what to expect, and I'd feel so much better with you beside me, even if you do just end up standing there, trying not to laugh too much if they turn out to be the strangest person we've ever met."

Kurt's heart soared even higher as he realised Blaine said 'we met', and his smile just grew in warmth. It still managed to make his heart flutter whenever Blaine referred to them as one, as the couple that they were. After all, they did sort of arrive as a package deal, known to be almost inseparable at times. He thought he would have gotten used to it by now, but Kurt was happy to know the fluttering feeling he got from Blaine still remained, growing stronger and more potent everyday.

"And what happens if your roommate turns out to be handsome guy and you get swept away into a secret love affair with him?" He teased, his eye's fluttering down to the lid of his coffee cup. Kurt sensed as Blaine lent in across the table, his voice low, flirty even, so that only Kurt could hear what it was he was saying.

"That's totally not going to happen. I've already been swept away by the most gorgeous guy out there. There's no competition."

There was a pause as the two of them looked at each other, Blaine smiling smugly. After a few seconds, the silence was broken, and Kurt laughed, breaking the bubble that the two of them had been caught in.

"You're so cheesy sometimes." Kurt said, hitting Blaine's arm lightly.

"Yeah, but you love me for it." Blaine replied, leaning back in his chair, his smug smile still hilighting his face as he reached for his coffee cup again.

There was a small, comfortable silence between the two of them as they both took a sip of their drinks. Both of them were just happy to sit in each others presence after a long morning of Blaine getting to know his way around the campus, and Kurt having to finish unpacking the last few boxes he had brought with him, with a little help from Rachel at his side.

"You'll never guess what happened earlier today." Blaine said, breaking the bubble of silence that had fallen over them.

Kurt - who had moved to fiddle with the pages of the Vouge he had been reading previously - looked up at Blaine, raising his eyebrow in a way that said 'do tell Blaine, do tell'.

"I was in the music rooms - which are tiny compared to Dalton's by the way. Tiny, but nicer - anyway. I ended up bumping into this guy in there. And god, he was an idiot, I'm telling you. But - before I left, I managed to find out his name." Blaine paused, pulling at the edge of his now half full coffee cup. His glance had fallen, but then he looked up, so that he was looking right back at his boyfriend from across the table. "Kurt, I met Jesse. Jesse St. James."

The shock that Kurt felt then was huge, and his eyebrows rose. He sat up straight in his chair once again, his eyes wide as he stared back at Blaine.

"Jesse's here? At this college? But how? Why? I thought he'd dropped out of college all together ages ago."

"Oh, he did. Apparently, he decided to try it out again. Not that his friend who appeared could quite believe why though."

Kurt bit his lip, an act that he did whenever he was anxious over something.

"Blaine, if he's back - then what happens when Rachel-"

"Rachel won't find out. We probably won't even see him again : he probably isn't even in our classes, may not even be in our _year_. It was just a chance meeting. One that, truthfully, I could have gone without ever having."

"Why? What happened?" Kurt asked, his brow furrowed deeply and he tilted his head to the side. Blaine shrugged slightly, removing his hand from Kurt's clasp so that he could put the lid back on his coffee.

"Well, he ended up pestering me about some book he wanted, and then when he figured out who I was, he kept going on about how he'd beaten to Warblers at Sectionals years ago. I tried to ignore him mostly. He was a bit of a … character."

"A _bit_." Kurt scoffed, and Blaine chanced a glance at him. He let out a small laugh then, shaking his head as his attention turned back to the coffee lid.

"Okay, maybe 'a bit' was an understatement, but you know what I meant."

Kurt shook his head, folding his arms across his chest as he did so.

"i can't believe this. The one college we decide to go to, the one is probably furthest away from Lima in all of our choices combined, and it's the one that Jesse St. James ends up attending too. How does that even happen?"

"I don't know Kurt. But - it's nothing we have to worry about. It's just a funny story to share, and hopefully, we won't have to bump into him too much around campus."

Kurt contemplated those words, and looked down at the table, still biting his lip. He still wasn't convinced, and he had the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach that was telling him that Jesse would not just be a passing figure in all of their lives. Still, he hoped he was wrong. They had left Lima to finally get away from the drama back there and to attempt to reach their dreams, not be reunited with it. If Jesse was back in the picture, it really was one less thing they needed. And Kurt didn't even want to consider Rachel's reaction if she ever found out.

But maybe Blaine was right. Maybe Jesse would just be one of those shadows of people you see around you but never really familiarize yourself with. Maybe he would just be a face in the crowd, and nothing more. Someone you pass by and say a quick 'hello' to, before quickly hurrying on to wherever it was you were going. He hoped so.

"Come on," Blaine's voice called, breaking Kurt out of his train of thought. He looked up, noticing that Blaine was already on his feet, pulling his bag over his shoulder and carrying the now empty coffee cup in his other hand. "I want to see if my roommates back yet. They've got to be back sometime soon if they have any hope of unpacking anything before sleeping tonight."

Kurt rose to his own feet, picking up his magazine and carefully putting it back in his bag as he did so. When he was finally finished - and after disposing of both his and Blaine's empty cups into the bin - the both of them left the coffee shop, returning back to Blaine's dorm to say hello to who, they both hoped, would be their new friend for the next year.

* * *

><p>When they eventually made their way back to Blaine's dorm, Kurt was amazed by what they were greeted with.<p>

There weren't really that many boxes in the room, some belonging to the new, mysterious roommate and one or two still tucked away that Blaine had yet to finish sorting through himself - but the mess that they were witness too could have spoken differently. Kurt knew that Blaine wasn't a particularly messy person, yes he did leave the odd pieces of clothing or books or pieces of paper lying around, but it wasn't on a large scale. Not like the mess they were facing now was. And Kurt knew that whoever this person was that Blaine was sharing a room with, they were sloppy. He was silently thankful that it wasn't him that had to share a room with them and that Rachel knew well enough to not leave such a mess in their room, but at the same time Kurt couldn't help but feel slightly sorry that it was Blaine who had to live with this.

"... And I thought Finn was messy."

Kurt turned his head slightly then to look at Blaine who was standing beside him, noticing that he was staring in awe at the mess his room was left in. A few moments passed, and Kurt moved to the bed that had been free previously, noticing a collection of t-shirts that he just couldn't leave in the state they were in any longer.

"No, Finn was a slob. This is just mess. At least you won't have to worry about finding left over pizza three months after it's been eaten lying around."

"Or so we hope. There's always a chance that could still happen."

Kurt continued to fold the t-shirts neatly, a silence falling between the two of them as Blaine tried to adjust to what he was looking at. Suddenly, something caught Kurt's eye on one of the shirts. He held it up, looking at the picture that was on it.

"Well, whoever it is they have good taste in musicals. Look Blaine!"

He turned, holding the t-shirt so that Blaine could see. Kurt watched as his boyfriend's eyebrows rose, before he broke out into a small smile.

"Looks like it's me who has to worry about you making a new friend, and not the other way around."

Kurt just rolled his eyes and shook his head in response, grinning slightly as he folded the top up and threw it back onto the bed where the rest of the small pile lay. He glanced back at Blaine, noticing that he had taken to sitting on his own bed.

"Not going to help?"

Blaine looked up, noticing that Kurt was glancing at him.

"It's not my mess to clean up. Nor is it yours. Kurt, you should probably just leave it."

"I'm just folding clothes Blaine. I'm sure whoever your roommate is they're not going to hate me for that."

"But they're not yours to fold. And you don't know what my this person might be like. They could be someone who doesn't like people they don't know touching their belongings. Even if that person is their roommates boyfriend."

Kurt crossed his arms, an eyebrow raising slightly as he stood up straight to look at Blaine. Blaine knew that expression all too well, and felt that he was on thin water suddenly; knowing he'd have to be careful with what he said next.

"Look, if you want something to do, then you can help me out with my clothes. I think I still have a box around here somewhere that I didn't get to finish emptying..."

All of a sudden, Blaine was cut off by the sound of the door opening. Both sets of eyes fell in it's direction, anticipation for what they'd meet and the type of person they'd be faced with. This was it, this was the time for them to meet Blaine's new roommate.

As the door opened and the person stepped into the room, both Blaine and Kurt's eye's opened in shock at what they were met with. For the person they were looking at was one of the last they expected to see at all, especially in the dorm.

"You!" Kurt said, breaking the silence and alerting the person who had walked in. They looked up, and Kurt watched as their own eyes lit up in shock, before a large smile tore across the persons face.

"Princess! Eyebrows!" They quickly scanned their eyes in Blaine's direction, who was still sitting on the bed gaping in shock. The persons brow furrowed in confusion, and they continued speaking. "Why are you in my room?"

"That's what we should be asking you! Jesse, why are you here?"

Jesse looked back at Kurt, then to Blaine, then back to Kurt again. A few moments passed of awkward silence, he looking confused as Blaine managed to stop gaping finally, and Kurt continued to look at Jesse with his own brow knitted in annoyance. Suddenly, Jesse's expression softened, and he let out a small, silent 'oh' as he finally understood what was happening.

"This is - one of you live here too?" He asked, closing the door behind him as he did so and walking into the room a bit more.

"Yes," Blaine spoke up, sitting up straight in on his bed as he finally entered the conversation.

"So that means that - one of the two of you are my new roommate?" He said, the question more to himself then to be answered by either of them. Still, he watched as Blaine nodded, Kurt still glaring from where he was standing.

"Awesome! That means I don't have to bother trying to get to know someone else! But - which one of you is my roommate? Princess?"

"Jesse that is not and has never been my name." Kurt snapped in annoyance.

"Oooookay. I'm going to take that as a possible no."

Slowly, Jesse's attention turned from Kurt to Blaine, a questioning expression in his gaze as he stared at him. He pointed to Blaine, looking back at Kurt as he did so.

"So eyebrows…?"

Kurt - who had crossed his arms and was holding his head high in the air, nodded before shifting his gaze away from Jesse. Jesse turned back to Blaine, and Blaine held his hand out to him.

"Blaine Anderson." He said, a smile on his face. Truth was, Blaine was just as shocked as Jesse and Kurt was by the turn of events, especially after only just bumping into Jesse that morning. But, reminding himself that he was going to be living with this guy for at least a year, Blaine found himself trying to forget the events that had unfolded previously that morning.

Jesse smiled in response, grabbing a hold of Blaine's hand tightly and shaking it.

"Jesse St. James. Listen man - sorry about earlier this morning ..."

"Oh! No, don't - don't worry about it. Really. It's forgotten." Blaine replied, looking over Jesse's shoulder to notice Kurt rolling his eyes.

"Cool." Jesse turned to where Blaine was looking, but his gaze soon fell to the bed - his bed. _Jesse's bed. _Oh god Jesse and Blaine were roommates now - and his eye's lit up, noticing what was lying on top of it.

"Hey, which one of you folded my t-shirts?"

Kurt glanced back at Jesse, watching as the other man walked towards his bed, towards where the pile he had previously been sorting out sat. He silently wished that he had taken Blaine's advice and just left them alone now, and when he sent a glare back in Blaine's direction he noticed that his boyfriend was trying hard not to laugh at him. He took a moment to calm himself down, resisting the urge to be childish and poke his tounge out at the dark haired man standing from across the room whilst Jesse still had his back turned. Instead, he sighed, turning back in Jesse's direction and preparing himself to answer his question…

… before finding that his words had failed him. His eye's opened wide in shock, watching as Jesse shuffled through the pile of shirts that had previously been neatly folded and turning them into a mess of creases once more.

And as Kurt stood there, unable to believe that it had taken Jesse less then three minutes to mess up the neat pile he had organized, and as Blaine failed miserable to hold in his laughter at Kurt's distress, they both knew that living with Jesse was going to definitely be interesting. Weather it was going to be for good reasons or bad reasons though, neither of them were too sure.

* * *

><p>...<p>

Jesse's a roommate!

I'm not sure who I feel sorry for more right now: Kurt and his poor, previously neat pile he had organized, or Blaine for now having to put up with his new roommate. ... Or possibly both, seeing as I expect Jesse will pester Kurt as well now he's finally showed his face. Happy happy fun times with Jesse now though! (I promise, I will never say that again. If I can help it).

I'm still going over the next chapter. I'm undecided as to weather it will be more Jesse adventures, or if instead we find out more about Rachel's first few days at settling in at college (aside from her search parties). But yes, the next update may be delayed slightly as I ponder that and possibly ... write or add to it. Or whatever it is it needs. We shall see. And yes, I will be ignoring the Blaine is a junior thing that last episode sprang on us. Act as if that never even happened, because in this universe? It never did.


	5. Chapter 3

The next few days seemed to pass much too slowly for Kurt's liking.

He had since spoken to Rachel about the 'surprise' that was Blaine's new roommate, and had to spend the rest of the night afterwards listening to her complain about Jesse. And if Kurt thought that was bad, it was nothing compared to what they had to face when the four of them overlooked their college schedules. They had soon come to realise that Jesse was studying the same as Rachel was - which, wasn't much of a surprise, really. Still, Rachel had not been in the least bit happy about it, and after finally understanding that Kurt really did understand her concerns, and that he really didn't need to hear her go on about them again and again, she had resorted to skyping Finn and complaining to him about it instead.

Well, Kurt thought. At least Finn disliked Jesse enough to put up with the girls ranting. Even if Kurt wished that she would speak a little less loudly whilst skyping in their small dorm. Because he really didn't need to hear the conversation also.

By the time it reached the night of the second day of Jesse's moving in, Kurt had had enough of Rachel's ranting already - classes hadn't even started and yet she was already upset over _something_. Deciding that he definitely needed to escape, Kurt decided that him and his boyfriend were going to go out on a date. So, after confirming it all with Blaine and making sure he was available the next night, Kurt was happy and much looking forward to spending some time with him and away from the madness.

Or, so he thought.

* * *

><p>To say that sharing a room with Jesse wasn't difficult would be very much a lie, as Blaine had learnt very quickly. He had discovered that sharing a room with the other man was probably going to be one the craziest and oddest things he would ever find himself doing. But that was what college life was like, was it not? A chance at new experiences, however insane they were.<p>

The two of them however, were not on good terms. They weren't on bad terms either, per say. It was just that they were simply two different people who happened to share a room together, with no sense of friendship or hatred between them. All that was between them was a sense of … awkwardness. Blaine was still unable to forget his first meeting with Jesse, and he was just waiting for the next moment that his roommate revealed just how extraordinary he was. And he wasn't sure if anything he would say in the future could trigger that. To Blaine, Jesse appeared to be a ticking time bomb, set to explode at any given moment, and if the stories he'd heard from Kurt were any indication, stopping him from exploding was a very good idea to consider. So, for the first few days, Blaine felt as if he were stepping on eggshells.

Still, after the first two days Blaine had at least expected Jesse to have unpacked and got himself sorted out. Classes were just around the corner, and neither of them would have the opportunity to do so once work started entering their lives. He, on the otherhand, had already unpacked. His items were in an organized fashion - thanks to Kurt -, and his clothes were all neat and tidy in their rightful places for the time being - again, thanks to his boyfriend: but both of them knew that the clothes would not remain so pristine once Blaine started getting comfortable in his room. Blaine had thrown the suggestion out that Jesse ought to consider unpacking too, and had received an answer that 'yes, he'd get on it in the morning'. So, content that Jesse would be true to his word somehow, Blaine had left that morning expecting to meet a slightly clearer room.

…. When he returned later that afternoon however, he was not prepared for what was waiting for him.

He shut the door behind him and set his bag on the ground on his side of the room. As he turned however he froze to the spot, eyes opening wide. Jesse's side of the room had remained almost untouched. Boxes remained unopened and unmoved, saved for the few that showed that Jesse had intended to do … well something. But that wasn't the end of it. Blaine's eye's travelled to where the TV in their small, shared room sat, and where also, Jesse sat on the floor, cross legged and back pressed against Blaine's bed. He was holding a game console remote control, a cable attached to it that led to an xbox machine. Clearly, Jesse had unpacked, but had soon stopped and got bored or sidetracked as soon as he found the game machine.

"I thought you were finally going to sort through your stuff Jesse?" Blaine found himself saying, his voice irritated as his eyebrows knotted together in frustration. Jesse on the otherhand just looked in his direction, eyes widening and a smile growing on his face as he noticed him.

"Blaine! Hey!" His eye's darted back to the television screen, and he quickly hit a button on the remote, setting whatever game he was playing on pause before turning to look at Blaine again.

"Oh yeah - about that. I started, but then I found this!"

Blaine's confusion grew, and he looked back at the machine. He noticed one of the stickers that were stuck on it …

"Is - Is that my xbox?" He asked, pointing to the machine.

"Sure is buddy! I left mine at home, and then I found it under your bed. And I guessed that you wouldn't mind, so I started playing it." He looked around at the untouched boxes for a moment, before looking back at Blaine. "I guess I lost track of the time though."

"Yes you did. Now get off the xbox and unpack."

Jesse turned back to the television screen, returning to sit back into the comfortable position he had been sitting in before Blaine had appeared.

"No. Don't want to." He said, clicking a button on the controller and continuing with the game he was previously involved with.

Blaine continued to watch Jesse wordlessly, his mouth open slightly in disbelief. His roommate had gone through his belongings, whilst he was out no less, and simply helped himself to his game console. On what planet was that even okay when they hardly knew each other? What if Jesse had broken it? And more importantly, when the hell was Jesse going to get around to unpacking all his own stuff?

Blaine imagined what Kurt would do in the situation, always knowing that his boyfriend's way of solving things was usually a great example to lead. But then he remembered what Kurt had said about Jesse, and how he had reacted when he found out he was Blaine's roommate, and decided to think again on that. Kurt had not reacted well to Jesse's appearance, and as much as he wanted to, Blaine knew that shouting at Jesse and forcing his lazy ass to move would not work nor would it solve anything. That, and Blaine really didn't want to cause conflict, no matter how much Jesse was already beginning to do just that.

So, after a good few moments of standing there looking stupid whilst Jesse continued to entertain himself, Blaine finally found his feet again and walked over to Jesse's boxes. He took the one that was nearest to him and pulled it up onto Jesse's bed, pulling it open and looking inside.

… It was full of food supplies. And only food supplies.

Right, well, most of that could easily be shoved into the fridge they shared.

He pushed that box to the side, and picked up another one, opening it. Clothes. Great, he could put them in the closet. And Jesse being Jesse, he wouldn't care so much if Blaine left them as a scrunched up mess.

"What are you doing?"

At the sound of the question, Blaine turned his head in Jesse's direction, noticing that his video game was on pause again and that Jesse was looking at him in confusion. Oh god, he'd crossed a boundary hadn't he?

"….Unpacking your stuff."

"I can see that. But why?"

"… Because you won't …?"

The two of them watched each other for a moment, until finally Jesse just sighed, and rolled his eyes.

"I'll do it myself tomorrow, there's no hurry man."

"You said that yesterday."

"And I started didn't I? Just - relax Blaine. Don't be such a stick in the mud."

"Well, sorry if I'm just trying to make sure that we're both organized before classes start up."

"Dude, it'll be ready. Stop stressing so much." A pause, and Jesse looked around him, as if in search for something. He soon found it, and held up the second controller to the xbox. "Come and chill for a bit Blaine. Play some xbox, loosen up. If you ask me, you've been taking these past few days way too seriously."

Blaine rose an eyebrow at Jesse, staring at him. Was he seriously asking him to just sit down and play video games with him?

"Jesse I -" He began, but was quickly cut off by the other man.

"Look, Blaine. I know I was a bit of a dick when we first met each other -" Blaine scoffed then and it was followed from a glare by Jesse."Alright. A lot of a dick. But I'm really sorry about that. I sort of sense that things haven't been all peachy between us since we found out we were dorming together, but, we really ought to change that. We know nothing about each other - okay, a lie. I bet Kurt's probably told you all sorts of horror stories about me - and so has Rachel too. But I know literally nothing about you. And I think, bonding over a video game session might actually be good for us."

Blaine was speechless. What Jesse had said made a surprisingly good amount of sense. And as he thought about it, video game bonding … well that could be both fun and beneficial to them. He hesitated for a second, thinking of the proposition in his mind, until he turned his attention back to Jesse.

"And you'll promise to unpack your stuff tomorrow?"

Jesse beamed, and nodded.

"It'll be the first thing I do after breakfast."

A few moments, and Jesse and Blaine just looked back at each other. Blaine knew there was a big chance that Jesse wouldn't unpack, but for some reason, he wanted to believe him then. And he did miss playing on his xbox, he hadn't done much of that over the summer….

"Move over then," He said, moving to sit down next to Jesse. "I'm only playing for a while though. Kurt will be here in a few hours, and I need to get ready for our date."

"Yeah yeah, we'll finish playing way before Kurt shows up," Jesse muttered, moving so that Blaine could sit down and plugging the second xbox controller in.

"You do know that they're wireless right? Plugging them in like that is only if you need to charge them."

"Yeah, but when I unpacked them they weren't charged. Someone forgot to do that." Jesse chanted, turning to grin at Blaine sitting beside him

Blaine snatched the controller that was offered him, glaring slightly at him as he did so. Jesse on the other hand just shrugged and unpaused the game again. Blaine turned to look at the screen, a look of approval on is face for the game Jesse had chosen.

"We're playing Assassins Creed?"

"Yeah, but now there's two of us we might as well go online and find a team. Say, do you have any other friends who might want to join too?"

* * *

><p>Kurt walked with a spring in his step and a smile on his face as he travelled the short distance to the room that Blaine and Jesse shared. Admittedly, his day had been pretty bad - well, terrible would be a better way to describe it. However, he had decided to push all that aside and just enjoy the time he would be spending with his boyfriend. After all, thinking about the date that they had planned was what managed to help him remain sane throughout the day and not snap at anyone that had annoyed him. He couldn't wait to see Blaine again, and although it had only been a few days, it felt longer since the two of them had really had a chance to just talk to each other. Just the two of them.<p>

Saying that, he did not expect to hear shouting coming from inside the dorm. As he made his way nearer his walk became slower, and Kurt began to feel curious as to what was happening. His brow furrowed in confusion as soon as he was standing in front of the door however. Were Blaine and Jesse … arguing? No, it didn't sound like arguing to Kurt, just random shouting every now and again. Either way, it left him very confused as to what was going on behind the door. After all, shouldn't Blaine have been getting ready by now? Perhaps the shouting was just to do with Jesse's behaviour.

Cautiously, Kurt put his hand on the door handle, before slowly pulling it and letting himself in the room. He poked his head around the door, and the sight before him made his eyes go wide. There, sitting on the floor were both Blaine and Jesse, the two of them engrossed in whatever game it was they were playing.

"What on earth -" Kurt said, letting himself in fully and standing in the doorway.

Neither Jesse or Blaine moved, obviously still none the wiser that Kurt had even entered. From where he was standing, Kurt pushed the door closed, letting it slam loudly as he crossed his arms. That seemed to bring the two boys back to earth, as Blaine finally tore his eyes from the screen long enough to look at Kurt, if only to share a quick smile in his direction.

"Oh! Hey Kurt!" He said, before turning back to the screen. "Jesse, what are you – put the game on pause."

"We can't put it on pause Blaine; we're in the middle of a mission." Came Jesse's whine.

"Just, put it on pause."

"Why can't you wait until the missions over to talk to Kurt? We're already more than half way through it."

From where he was standing, Kurt watched Jesse and Blaine bicker as they continued to play, raising an eyebrow. His happiness from before was slowly diminishing very quickly, instead being replaced with the annoyance that he had been battling with all day. Kurt decided however that he'd at least try to control his emotions, knowing very well that it wasn't Blaine's fault. Not really. Not yet anyway.

"Because Jesse, we have reservations."

"Wait – we have reservations? I don't remember booking…" Blaine said, turning to look at Kurt again briefly with confusion.

"You wouldn't, because I booked them remember? On the phone last night, I spoke to you about that pizza that Rachel told us about the day we first moved in. You were excited about it and you said okay and – _Blaine why aren't you even ready__?_"

_'Oh. Well, so much for keeping cool' _Kurt thought to himself.

Blaine looked down at what he was wearing, and noticed that he was still wearing the same thing that he had thrown on in a rush that morning. Oh. Right.

"I – guess I just lost track of the time."

Kurt shared a look at him that seemed to say 'really?' and Blaine knew that an oncoming storm was about to be unleashed very, very soon. A storm that he really didn't want to be on the receiving end of, because when Kurt was mad or upset – he was mad or upset.

"It's okay, I'll just – get changed now. There's still time."

"Oh no. No. Blaine, you cannot leave me now. Not when Wes is completely kicking our asses!"

"Jesse, really, not now -"

"You're playing with Wes?" Kurt asked, his voice wavering between trying to keep calm still and wanting to just let his emotions go completely.

"And Finn!" Jesse piped up, throwing a smile in Kurt's direction before returning back to his game.

"I see…" Kurt said, before turning his gaze back to Blaine who was looking at him with a pleading, puppy dog look. A small silence passed between them, where the only sound game from the game on the television that Jesse was still playing, before Kurt stood up straight and uncrossed his arms.

"Well, I wouldn't want to interrupt -"

"Kurt, please don't be like that - " Blaine interrupted, noticing the venom that was beginning to seep into Kurt's words.

"No," Kurt interrupted, glaring at Blaine. "Forget it Blaine. We'll just have our date another night. I wouldn't want to tear you away from your friends. Forget about the reservations. We probably won't even make them on time now anyway."

Kurt knew that his words sounded worse than he had intended even to his own ears, but he decided that he didn't really care. He was annoyed and well, Blaine could have just told that he'd rather stay in then go out. He wasn't that much of a monster to deny him time with his friends and … Jesse. Wait - did Jesse fall into the 'friend' category for Blaine now?

"Kurt, come on -"

"Blaaaaaine, Wes is killing us."

"Jesse, please. Not. Now."

"Oh for god's sake – Blaine just help him beat Wes! It's obvious that's how you'd prefer to spend your evening!"

"What? Kurt – Kurt!"

But Blaine's shouting fell on deaf ears, as Kurt was already out the door, slamming it behind him again. Blaine sat on the ground, staring at the door in dumb, blank confusion. What had just happened? Kurt was mad at him – all because he wasn't ready in time for their date and was still sitting on the floor playing a video game? What? It wasn't like he intended to be still playing the game when Kurt turned up, and to be truthful, it was Jesse's fault in the first place for convincing him to play.

Jesse. If he hadn't of kept trying to find reasons why Blaine should keep playing, Kurt probably wouldn't have gotten as annoyed as he had. Sure, Blaine enjoyed playing video games with Jesse, it was actually kind of nice to relax and get to know his roommate that way, which he really wasn't expecting at all. But, he and Kurt had made plans first. And he knew what Kurt was like about being ready on time. Still, he couldn't understand why he had reacted as badly as he had

"Oh god I should probably talk to him." Blaine said after letting out a large sigh, rubbing his hand over his eyes as he did so. Jesse turned to look over at Blaine, noticing that his back was to him as he was still staring at the door Kurt had walked out of only moments ago.

"Probably not a good idea Blaine."

"What?" Blaine asked, turning to face him. Jesse just shrugged, going back to the game.

"Going after Kurt now won't solve anything. It's best to just let him unload on some unsuspecting victim and deal with him later when he's not a ticking time bomb of emotions."

Blaine continued to look at Jesse, uneasy at the words he had said. It was true, going after Kurt now probably would do more harm than good – Blaine had discovered that much from experience – but Blaine didn't want to go to sleep knowing that there was a strong possibility that Kurt was mad at him for some reason. He wanted to fix things, and maybe if it wasn't too late they could still have their date night, even if they couldn't make the reservations that had apparently previously been booked.

"Blaine, I know what you're thinking, and stop thinking it. If you go after Kurt now, he'll just feel like you only want to go out to make him feel better, which we both know, will just make him more annoyed."

"But -"

"No, Blaine." Jesse turned to him, shoving the controller Blaine was playing before into his hand. "Tomorrow. Kurt would have then calmed down from his diva act, realised this whole thing was just stupid, and it'll be easier to sort out after a good nights sleep. Until then you just hang out with your friends via video game world and you try to chill."

Blaine just glared at Jesse, before moving and flopping his back against the edge of his bed.

"Fine." He let out in a sigh. Although it wasn't fine, but Blaine couldn't deny that Jesse was probably right.

Damn him, wasn't Jesse supposed to be an idiot?

* * *

><p>The door slammed closed, making Rachel jump and look up from the book she had previously been reading from. She hadn't been expecting Kurt to return this early - or, that night at all to be honest - so it was more than a shock to her that he had.<p>

After hearing the loud thunk of a bag hitting the floor, she quickly put the book on the side of her bed, sitting up and ignoring the fact that she was dressed in her pink pajamas (she had expected to have the room alone, and so was going to spend the time relaxing and having an early nights sleep). Eventually, Kurt appeared in the room, purposely not looking in Rachel's direction as he flopped down onto his own bed and began the task of removing his boots.

Rachel could sense the mood change in the atmosphere, almost turning toxic, and she watched in silence for a few moments as her roommate battled with the laces. Finally, she crossed her legs and sat up a bit more, her expression becoming concerned as she took in Kurt's agitated expression.

"Kurt … do you want to talk about it?"

"No." Came Kurt's instant and sharp reply. The room fell silent for a few moments, and Rachel continued to watch as he continued working with his shoe. She wasn't sure how to touch the subject of Kurt's mood - she knew well enough that it had been in constant flux all day - but knew that it would be better for him to talk about what had happened instead of keeping it all inside.

"Is this still to do with the person who spoilt coffee and paint on you in the coffee shop this morning? Because Kurt, I'm sure you can get the stains out of that jumper with your usual magic ways-"

"No, it's not to do with the jumper. Well, yes, that is part of the reason why I'm upset." Kurt paused, yanking at the boot to pull it off, before moving to work on the laces of the other one. "That jumper was one of my favorites."

"You'll fix it." Rachel replied, moving to grab a hold of one of the colour clashing pillows that lay on her bed and cuddling it. She remained silent as Kurt removed the other shoe, before deciding to continue speaking.

"I'm going to guess that you haven't eaten since you left? Your reservations were for eight and, well, it's half past now -"

"No. I haven't eaten."

"Oh. Well, there's some left over chicken from earlier that I could get for you -"

"I'm not hungry Rachel."

"Kurt, you know that you shouldn't skip out on a meal -"

"I'm not hungry."

Rachel paused, for a moment, before throwing the pillow at Kurt and getting up from the bed.

"Rachel what -"

"I don't care if you're hungry or not, you're going to try and eat that chicken." She moved to walk to the small fridge they had placed in their room, finding the small plate of chicken that was sitting in there. "And while you do, you're going to talk to me and tell me what's wrong. Because I know you really do want to talk about it and, well, it'll make you feel better to get it all of your chest."

Rachel could feel the glare that Kurt was sending her, but she chose to ignore it. After all, she had agreed to take good care of him whilst in New York, and that's exactly what she was going to do. So, after shoving the plate in Kurt's face until he finally took it away from her, she moved to sit back across from him on her own bed, clutching at yet another pillow.

After a few more moments of silence and staring at the offending food on the plate, Kurt gave in, deciding to eat instead of just fuming for the rest of the night. Rachel smiled slightly as he did, happy to see that he had calmed down enough to do so, and hoping that hopefully, he would soon have calmed down enough to talk. She was right, as soon after he eaten a few pieces Kurt let out a loud sigh, rolled his eyes and began to speak.

"I can't believe him though. I mean, really?"

Rachel clutched at her pillow tighter, and continued to look at Kurt, making sure that he understood that she was listening to him.

"Kurt, what happened?"

There was a pause as Kurt looked at her for a moment, before shaking his head and continuing.

"I went to Blaine's dorm to pick him up for our date – which he knew about beforehand, by the way. Anyway, when I walked in, instead of finding him dressed nice and ready to leave he's sitting on the floor in front of the television, playing video games with Jesse. I mean don't get me wrong, I don't mind if he wants to play video games - even though I'd rather he wouldn't because they're a complete waste of time – but could he at least let me know that that's how he'd rather spend his evening beforehand?"

Rachel watched Kurt sadly as he moved back to pick at the chicken still on his plate, before moving over and patting the empty space next to her. There was a hesitant pause, before Kurt moved from his bed to sit beside her.

"So you're angry because he'd rather play video games then spend time with you?"

A pause, and then he nodded.

"It's not that I mind, I mean he's played games before and I've never minded. It's just -"

"- You'd rather that it wouldn't be when you two already had something pre-planned?" Another pause and Kurt nodded again. "I understand. This used to happen all the time when I was dating Finn. Granted, he used to forget half the time that we even had a date planned, so much so that I ended up making his and her calendars for about the third time so that he wouldn't forget -"

"Hate to tell you this Rachel, but Finn never used them."

"I know. Because he still used to forget when I gave him his." She shuffled again, grabbing the last pillow and giving it to Kurt. He took it again, unfazed by the colour of it for once, and just hugged it closer to him as if it was a source of comfort.

"It's a common thing among guys Kurt. They become addicted to these things, so much so they often forget about the significant figures in their lives."

"Well that makes me feel so much better." Kurt spat out sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he clung tighter to the pillow and pulled his legs up onto the bed.

"Come on Kurt, it's not like this is something that always happens between you two. I promise it happens to the best of us at least once. Oh!"

Rachel quickly jumped off the bed, running over to where her laptop was charging as if she had just had the best idea in the world. Kurt watched her, and rolling his eyes again when he notice her unplug it, before bringing it back with her on the bed.

"Rachel, what are you doing?"

"I am going to show you just how common this is."

"….You're not going to google search are you? Because the last time you google searched -"

"Let's forget about that time okay Kurt?"

"….Alright." Kurt said, looking at Rachel for a moment before moving to make himself more comfortable. He could hear her as she started tapping rapidly on her laptop, and dreaded what sorts of things she was searching for, or even more what it is she would find. As if his day wasn't bad enough, now he has to sit through 'Rachel Berry and her (in)famous internet searches of terror'.

"Kurt, look at this!"

Kurt turned to look over her shoulder to see what she had pulled up on her screen. His eyes widened, at the title on the page and - oh god why was this girl even allowed a laptop?

"_'__You, him, and the xbox__'_? _Seriously _Rachel?" He looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that! It's actually really helpful! Look!" She scrolled down the page, and Kurt looked over her shoulder again. "Loads of people are writing stuff about their partners neglecting them for video games. Look at this one!_ '__I'm pregnant with his child and he won't even leave the game long enough to take me to the doctors. He gets mad at me if I shop for too long, yet it's fine for him to neglect important matters like the well being of his child.'_"

Kurt's just continued to stare at the screen in shock, wondering just what on earth Rachel had even typed into the search engine to get the results that they were currently looking at.

"Okay two things. One, Rachel, I can't get pregnant, so that story has no meaning to me. And two, seriously? That's just insane, why is that girl even in that relationship if the guy thinks his game is more important than their kid?"

"Point taken – but it was just an example. Oh what about this one! _'__Ever since he brought that stupid new game our sex life has flown out the window. Even when I try and get him in the mood and touch him 'there'-"_

"Rachel please stop talking."

Rachel stopped, noticing that Kurt was moving so that he didn't have to look at the laptop screen anymore.

"What's wrong?" She asked, and was surprised when Kurt turned to look at her with wide eyes.

"_What's wrong? _You're choosing the most dramatic stories you find to read aloud!"

"I'm just trying to prove to you that guys and video games is a normal thing in some relationships."

"Not to the point of it stopping sex! Really, paying attention more to a game than being intimate with someone? What's the point of even having a relationship?"

Rachel shrugged, and turned back to her laptop, moving to scroll through the various stories that littered the page. "….But a lot of these are about how video game obsessions are interfering with sex lives."

"Well I can tell you, there is no need for you to search for any of those sorts of stories. My sex life with Blaine is fine thank you very much."

"Ooooooooh?"

Kurt blinked, his brow furrowing in confusion as Rachel looked up at him with a smirk on her face.

"What?" He asked, watching as Rachel grinned devilishly at him, noticing a mischievous twinkle shining in her eyes. He retraced what he had just said in his mind and - oh. Oh.

"No I didn't – I didn't mean – Rachel can you please stop imagining me and Blaine having sex right now?"

Rachel snorted, almost dropping the laptop as she did so, and burst out laughing.

"Rachel!"

"I'm sorry!" She said, taking a deep breath as she continued to laugh. "It's just – you never really talk much about it, and now you've mentioned it – you're so flustered about it Kurt!"

Kurt watched her, before slouching against the wall they were leaning against and letting out a loud sigh.

"Why don't you just – just continue searching whatever it was that you were searching before" he said, hoping that he could move the conversation away from whatever train wreck it was currently headed in.

"Sure Kurt," Rachel said, still giggling as she returned her attention back to the laptop. "Maybe we should try another site instead."

Kurt stayed silent, almost scared for whatever it would be that Rachel would find next. At least there was always the chance to ignore her if she found something particularly odd.

"What about this then? _'Are video games stealing your man?'_"

Kurt froze for a second, before turning his head to look at the screen. Rachel wasn't kidding when she read out the title, as it was right there, staring back at him in big, bold letters.

"Good lord. These titles are worse than those pamphlets my Dad gave me when I was sixteen."

"Kurt, these titles are worse than _Ms. Pillsbury's _pamphlets."

"Remind me again why we're using the internet to search this?"

Rachel paused for a moment, before moving the laptop off her lap and putting it to her side. She turned to face Kurt, who was watching her with curiosity.

"We are searching this, because I am trying to prove to you that you have nothing to worry about. All these stupid stories we've just laughed and poked fun at, those are the sorts of relationships where people really should be asking what's going on. Kurt, you walked in to find Blaine playing a video game with Jesse, and the two of them have only been roommates for a few days. They're probably just trying to find common things of interest with each other. You know how friendly Blaine can be. He's nothing like the guys in these stories. Most likely, he was having fun and lost track of the time. Did you even give him a chance to talk or get ready when you walked in. I mean a proper chance Kurt?"

Kurt thought for a moment, replaying the scenario that had happened in his mind. He remembered that he really hadn't given Blaine much of a chance to say anything, let alone a chance to get ready. Sure, he had expected Blaine to have been ready when he arrived, but when he thought about it - he couldn't really blame him. It would have taken Blaine little to no time to throw something on and look amazing, less time than however long Kurt would prepare on any one of his outfits. So, with the feeling of guilt beginning to stir in his stomach, he simply shook his head.

"No." Kurt replied quietly, looking down at his hands clasped in his lap and avoiding Rachel's gaze. Rachel on the otherhand smiled sadly at Kurt, and shuffled closer.

"I know that you've had a bad day, and that you were just hoping that one thing would be perfect and make everything else seem pale in comparison, but - you can't just take it all out on Blaine. Because that's not fair on him. Think about it, Kurt. He's always been there in the past and he'll always be there for you in the future too. And never once has he ever forgotten about you or your dates intentionally before. When classes start up, he won't have much time to play silly video games with Jesse and his friends that live in different states. But, where Blaine might not be able to spend as much time with his other friends when he does get a few spare moments away from college work, he'll be devoted on spending it with you."

Kurt stared at Rachel, his mouth slightly open. A silence passed, and he was shocked at what she said. It did make sense, and even he knew it. Somehow, he had always known it. Blaine had told him more than once that he wanted to try and bond with Jesse before classes started, and Kurt knew that Blaine was going to miss seeing David and Wes nearly everyday as much as Kurt was going to miss seeing all his friends frequently.

"I shouldn't have got so upset with him." He sighed, all the frustration of the day disappearing.

"You probably shouldn't have, no," Rachel replied, moving the laptop the floor. "Because Blaine didn't know about your bad day, and he's now probably sulking and wondering what he's done wrong, and how he can fix it." She paused for a moment, smiling warmly as she wrapped her arm around Kurt. "But then again, I'm sure he knows better than anyone how you can be when your upset."

Kurt nodded, and then frowned. He really did feel terrible.

"This sucks." He said, leaning his head on Rachel's shoulder and pouting.

"It certainly does," Rachel agreed.

The two of them sat like that for a moment, Rachel trying to comfort Kurt, before she pulled away. Kurt turned to look at Rachel in confusion as she did so.

"As much as you and Blaine should probably talk, I don't think now is the best time. Ah -" She raised her hand as Kurt's brow furrowed and he was about to say something, but she continued to speak anyway. "You've had a horrid day, and I think what you need is to have a good nights sleep before talking to Blaine tomorrow. Send him a text if you want to let him know things are okay - but until then you are going to join me in singing along to some of our favorite songs."

Kurt's expression changed, and he tilted his head slightly to the side as he looked at Rachel, a small smile appearing on his lips as he did so.

"Rachel Berry, when did you learn to be so smart?"

"It's a burden, but I bear it." Rachel grinned, shrugging as she did so before shuffling off the bed and picking up her laptop from where it was sitting on the floor. "You finish that chicken and send Blaine a text, and while you do that I'll put this away, find my ipod and see what playlist is most suitable for this mood."

Kurt smiled in amusement as she turned and began to walk off, but he called out to her before she disappeared.

"Rachel."

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

She smiled, and disappeared to find her ipod, leaving Kurt alone with his thoughts and the plate of remaining chicken. He glanced over to where he left his phone earlier - he had forgot to take it with him when he had left the dorm earlier - and picked it up. He was surprised however to already see that he had received a message. He opened it, and smiled as he saw who it was from.

**B - I'm sorry about earlier. I'd come and see you now, but I don't know if that would make you even more mad. Can we talk? Whenever you're ready. Please? I hate that you're mad at me. I'm sorry, I love you. xx**

Reading the message over, Kurt sighed, and tapped out a response.

**K - I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted the way I did. I'm not mad at you, I promise. Meet me tomorrow for coffee? Normal place? xx**

He received a message quickly after he sent his reply, and Kurt suspected that Rachel had been right before and that Blaine had been worried and spending the last hour or so sulking.

**B - Definitely. I'll see you there. Coffee will be my treat. Normal time? xx **

**K - Normal time. Love you, see you tomorrow xxx**

As Kurt sent the last text, Rachel made her way into the room scrolling through her playlist. He put his phone down and smiled. His day may have been rotten, and he might have previously been upset for the wrong reasons, but at least now he was feeling slightly better. He had Rachel, who had helped to calm him down and lighten his mood somewhat, and he had Blaine. Sweet, wonderful Blaine, who really hadn't done anything wrong. He still felt slightly bad that he had acted as he had to him, but at least now he had reassured Blaine that he wasn't mad or upset with him. He could sleep that night knowing that neither one of them were upset about the other, and the next morning they would talk about it, and Kurt would let him know about everything that had happened during the day. Because Blaine deserved that.

And anyway, they could always make those reservations another day.

* * *

><p>This was much, <em>much<em> different from the original draft. But when I read over it earlier, it just seemed too cracky even for a crack fic. Or whatever this even is anymore. So, I reworked about half of it.

I'm actually sort of concerned about this chapter. The fight isn't a real fight, not really. I mean, it's not going to break their relationship, it's more a misunderstanding then anything. It's just Kurt letting out all his daily frustrations all at once and on the nearest target. Which is never a good thing to do with anyone. But ugh, I don't know. I hope it works. I hope Rachel doesn't seem to random either - even if she does have strange ways of showing Kurt that everything's okay. (And her google searches? Some of them are real. Freaky).

As for Finn playing online with Jesse and Blaine even though he doesn't like Jesse - he wanted an excuse to beat Jesse at gaming, and hearing that Wes is like, a guru at video games, he decided to join him and team up. David was busy that day. I'm not sure if Jesse will ever unpack, maybe! Maybe he'll be nice and do so - just so no more arguments happen for a while.

Next chapter! I'll try my best to get the next chapter up soon. I'm planning something for nanowrimo this year too at the moment, so I have a few things all over the place. But soon. It will probably be Kurt and Blaine and the coffee discussion. Not sure if it's going to be a huge chunk of the chapter to be honest, but we need to get this nasty air out of the room and bring in the fresh air :) So the next chapter will probably be combined, maybe with some Jesse. Of course, the groups classes will start up very, very soon...


	6. Chapter 4

When Kurt awoke the next morning, he found that he was feeling a lot better than he had been the day before. He supposed that he had Rachel to thank for that, really, after assuring him that a good night's sleep would be all he needed to lift his rotten mood, and by trying to cheer him whilst singing along to some of their favorite tunes.

Still, he couldn't ignore the feeling that he wouldn't feel completely better until he did one thing, and that was to patch things up with Blaine.

Sweet, wonderful Blaine.

As Kurt got himself ready to meet the boy in question, his mind kept playing the events of last night over and over again in his mind. Now that his thoughts were less crowded and he wasn't as aggravated over stupid, tiny little things, Kurt found that he could concentrate better. He knew that he had acted horribly to Blaine the day before, and his stomach twisted slightly as the image of his boyfriends face mixed with both confusion and hurt as he watched him storm out of the room came to the forefront of his mind. And it hurt Kurt to think about. Because of that, he was determined to fix things, to make up for how much of an ass he was before, and to let Blaine know just how truly sorry he really was.

When he finally reached the coffee shop where him and Blaine had agreed to meet, Kurt tried not to be surprised as he caught sight of Blaine through the shop window. There he was, sitting at the spot that they had somehow claimed as theirs during the few days that they had been visiting there, and looking somewhat nervous. Kurt felt his heart catch in his throat as he watched him for a few moments, and he swallowed down the emotions that he were suddenly overwhelming him. Why was Blaine nervous? He had no reason to be, he hadn't done anything wrong.

Oh, Kurt thought to himself. Everything probably seemed different from Blaine's perspective than it did from Kurt's. He probably did think that he was at fault, regardless of Kurt's assurances via text the night before telling him that it wasn't. And Kurt found that really, he couldn't blame him for thinking that. After all, had the tables been turned and it was Blaine sending him the texts, if it was Blaine saying he wasn't mad or upset with him even though he was clueless as to what the real problem was, Kurt would have still spent the majority of the night believing the opposite, and that the other boy was just trying to save his emotions. Still, he hated seeing Blaine sitting there like that, and he decided that he absolutely had to sort this out between them now.

Taking a deep breath, Kurt tore his gaze away from the window and continued to walk towards the entrance of the shop. He pushed open the door, stepping aside to let someone else enter too before turning around to where Blaine was seated. Blaine looked up from where he was sitting, having noticed that Kurt had walked in, and Kurt shared a small smile in his direction, hoping that the smile itself might make Blaine feel slightly less nervous. He watched as Blaine hesitated for a second, before smiling back in return, and it took all of Kurt's willpower then and there not to run over and envelop the shorter boy into a hug. Instead however, he walked over to the table - noticing when he reached it that Blaine, true to his word had already brought both of their drinks, as well as a muffin for Kurt also.

"Kurt -" Blaine began as Kurt moved to sit down.

He set his bag on the back of the chair, and turned to look at Blaine once he was comfortable. As he did so he was met with Blaine's kicked puppy expression, the type of which he hated to see him wear.

"You don't need to say anything Blaine," He answered, his voice coming out calmer than he expected it to. Kurt reached for his drink, moving to grab a hold of the stirrer that Blaine had left by it's side and putting it into the cup. "I know what your thinking, and let me just say, stop thinking it."

Kurt could tell that Blaine was watching him in shock then, and Kurt darted his eyes quickly to look at him before turning his attention back to his drink.

"I'm the one that should be saying sorry," He said, sighing as he sat the stirrer back on the table. Kurt's attention fell back on Blaine again, and he noticed that his shocked expression had only grown at his statement. Sighing, Kurt continued, pulling his drink closer to him as he did so.

"I was in a terrible mood before I'd even arrived at your dorm. Yesterday was just a bad day for me, everything was going wrong - and I mean _everything. _I still have the coffee and paint stains on one of my favorite jumpers just to prove it. But, that wasn't an excuse to take any of my aggravation or frustration out on you. You didn't deserve it, and I'm just - I'm really,_ really_ sorry and -" He paused, letting out a small laugh as he looked down at his coffee. "God I'm terrible at these type of things -"

"No, no your not," Blaine interrupted, reaching out to hold onto one of Kurt's hands. Kurt looked at him, raising an eyebrow as he did so, but Blaine didn't seem to notice. Instead, he just continued. "I get it Kurt, I do. And I'm sorry too. Because even if you say it wasn't my fault, it partly was. We had something planned together, and I let that slip my mind. How I even managed to do that is beyond me, and I hate that it did..."

"You were having fun with Jesse," Kurt said, pausing for a moment to drink the coffee that Blaine had brought him. "I can't blame you for wanting to get to know your roommate. Especially when you're going to have to live with him for at least a year."

"It's not an excuse. We had something planned, and that's what should have come first. I can play games with the guys all the time."

"But you won't be able to when classes start up, when we get busy with things. Especially not with Wes preparing for law school and David working on becoming a doctor."

"We would figure something out eventually," Blaine shrugged, before looking back at Kurt. "You on the other hand, you're more important than them."

Kurt rolled his eyes, bringing the coffee cup down to sit at the table.

"No but you are Kurt. Sure, I want time to spend with my friends and to get to know Jesse more, but you're forgetting one very important thing. And that's that I want to spend time with _you_ most of all." His grip on Kurt's hand tightened, and his eyes fell to where their hands were joined on the table. "And last night - I was really, _really_ looking forward to spending time with you."

Blaine's brow furrowed slightly, and Kurt noticed that his expression had changed. That when he next turned his gaze to look at him, Blaine seemed ... hurt. Upset, almost. Just as Kurt's gaze fell on Blaine he noticed the pain that suddenly seemed to appear in his eyes out of nowhere. And the hurt expression sent daggers into Kurt's own heart.

"Kurt, did you _honestly believe_ that I would rather play a few stupid video games with the others then enjoy being with you?"

Kurt's eyes widened, and suddenly he was hit with the full momentum of what he had said last night. It had all seemed like a blur then, and Kurt knew that what he had said was probably more hurtful than he had intended. That the words he had said were more out of the frustration of the day he had been having more than anything else. He didn't consider how things would have sounded then, but now that he thought about it - now he could see the impact those words really had on Blaine - Kurt couldn't ignore how his stomach twisted tightly again, and how his heart literally felt like it was aching by the broken expression that was looking right back at him, waiting for an answer.

_'Well, I wouldn't want to interrupt -'_

_'Forget it Blaine. We'll just have our date another night. I wouldn't want to tear you away from your friends.'_

_'Oh for god's sake – Blaine just help him beat Wes! It's obvious that's how you'd prefer to spend your evening!'_

'Christ', Kurt thought to himself. He could really be an asshole when he wanted to be.

"Oh Blaine, sweetie, no." His grip tightened on the hand that was holding his, and Kurt moved his free hand so that it was clasped on top of Blaine's. "Is that what you thought I thought?"

Blaine just nodded, his eyes falling to where his hand was sandwiched in between Kurt's.

"You just - you seemed so upset. And all I could keep thinking to myself was 'is that really what he believes?' Because it's not true Kurt."

"I know, I know." Kurt said, blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall from watching his boyfriend look so upset. "Blaine, I'm sorry you felt like that. It wasn't you I was mad at; it was everything else that had happened. I said things I shouldn't have said, and I wish I could take them all back. Especially knowing how they affected you. I didn't mean them. I _don't_ mean them."

Blaine - who moved to wipe his eyes with the sleeve of his free hand, a few tears having escaped as Kurt continued to speak – turned his gaze to look at his boyfriend, and Kurt sent a warm smile in his direction, hoping that it was helping to make Blaine feel better.

"I hate that I took out all my annoyance on you. You didn't deserve that."

Blaine nodded, squeezing the hand he was holding slightly as he tried to smile back at Kurt.

"I know. But Kurt -" He paused, stopping himself for a second to take control over his emotions once more. "When your upset, or annoyed, please – just, talk to me about it. I didn't know about the other stuff, I just assumed that it was me you were upset with."

Kurt tried to speak then, but Blaine just held his free hand up, prompting Kurt to stop so that he could continue.

"Just hear me out, please. I know I've gotten better at reading your emotions, but that doesn't mean that we don't still need to talk about things. When you're upset, you need to talk to me. We need to talk to each other, like we have about everything else. Because then we can sort these things out together. Or we can make each other feel better when we're feeling upset about something."

"Okay." Kurt agreed, nodding as he did so.

It was true, one of the only reasons they were in as strong a relationship as they were was because they always knew how to communicate with each other. They talked about everything together, and Kurt knew that it helped to keep them stable and happy with one another. As much as he had appreciated Rachel being by his side last night and making him feel somewhat better, Kurt couldn't help but wish it had been Blaine instead. Because Blaine just got him like no one else did. He understood him. He knew how to cheer him up when he was down, and he could read him better than anyone else could. If Blaine had been by his side last night, Kurt knew that the events of the day would have melted away.

Nodding, Blaine removed his hand from Kurt's grip, reaching over for the muffin that he had brought and pulled it apart.

"You've been stressed lately, I can tell. That probably didn't help your mood yesterday."

He offered Kurt part of the muffin, and Kurt took it, before letting out a sigh at Blaine's words.

"I've been trying to prepare for classes. My lessons start a few days earlier than yours do, and it even seems like I have so many things to prepare before I even walk into the room."

"And - did anything happen relating to that yesterday that made you even more upset?"

Kurt shrunk in his chair, munching on the muffin that Blaine had given him.

"I - may have lost some designs that I wanted to take with me to my first class next week." He paused, before noticing Blaine's expression was inviting him to continue. Letting out a audible sigh, he did just that. "They were my favorite designs, and I'm pretty sure that they would make a good first impression on my first day. But I looked in the notebooks that I left on my desk, and I couldn't find them. Granted I probably didn't look very hard yesterday as I was already frustrated enough as it was..." He drifted off, shrugging as he began to ponder the possible places where he could have left them.

"We'll look for them later, before we go out."

Kurt looked up at Blaine, confusion falling over him.

"We're ... going out?"

"Well of course silly," Blaine replied, smiling at Kurt as he did so. "We never did go out last night, and as I said - I was really looking forward to spending time with you. That is - unless you already have something planned -"

"Oh - no! No! I don't! I was just shocked, that was all. We can definitely go out tonight. I'd like that."

Blaine looked relieved then - and Kurt really wondered why, because surely he knew that he wasn't going to say no to spending time with him, especially not after the huge fuss he had made about doing so only the night before.

"Good." Blaine replied, his smile growing - and for the first time since the conversation had begun Kurt was able to say that it was Blaine's usual bright, happy smile. He smiled back at him, and picked up his coffee from where it sat at the table at the same time that Blaine did, happy to know that the two of them had managed to sort things out.

... Now what was he going to wear for when they went out together later that night?

* * *

><p>When Blaine finally arrived back at his dorm room with a happy smile on his face, he was shocked by what he was faced with.<p>

From where the room had been packed with boxes yesterday, now it was completely clear. In fact, if it weren't for the items that were dotted around on Jesse's side of the room that hadn't been there when he had left that morning, Blaine would have wondered if he was suddenly rooming by himself once again.

He moved to make his way over to where his desk was, plunking his bag down into the chair as he turned to look around the room. It was then that he noticed Jesse, busy putting … well something – into his drawers.

"You unpacked." Blaine said, breaking the silence. He was surprised by how shocked he sounded, but then again, as he continued to look around the room, he really couldn't believe that finally Jesse had decided to make the room somewhat maneuverable to walk through.

"Well duh. I said that I would. Straight after breakfast, just as promised."

"Yeah, but I didn't actually expect you to do it."

"You'll soon discover that I can be full of surprises." There was a pause, and Blaine heard the sounds of Jesse struggling with closing the draw. Ah. Obviously his 'packing' was most likely just chucking as many things into one draw as possible. Not that Blaine was surprised about that little fact in the slightest.

"How'd things go with Kurt?" Jesse asked, turning to look at Blaine as he did so.

Blaine just sat down at the edge of his bed, smiling as he did so.

"… I'm assuming you got everything all patched up between the two of you then?"

"Yes," Blaine replied. "We talked things over. It was all a big misunderstanding really."

He paused, frowning to himself for a second. Was he really talking to Jesse about these sorts of things? He shrugged his shoulders, the frown disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. Apparently, that was exactly what he was doing. Blaine found it surprising that he actually didn't really mind that he was talking to him about what had happened, after all it was Jesse who had told him to wait to talk to Kurt, and that suggested seemed to have worked out well.

"We're going out a bit later, to make up for not doing so yesterday."

"Sounds nice." Jesse answered, looking through a collection of comic books that were stacked by the foot of his bed as he payed very little attention to whatever it was that Blaine was saying.

"Yeah," Blaine replied, watching Jesse for a second before falling back onto his bed with a flop. "I was thinking about taking him to that pizza restaurant he had reservations for last night." He frowned slightly once more, shuffling on the bed as he tried to make himself comfortable. "Do you think you can just turn up without one, or do you need to make reservations beforehand? Should I do that now? Because I really don't want this night to be a disaster -"

"Okay stop."

Shocked at the outburst, Blaine turned to look at Jesse, and found that he had stopped flicking through his comics. Just as Blaine was beginning to wonder what it was he had said to cause the outburst, Jesse turned to look at him, his brow furrowed.

"How long have you and Kurt been dating again?"

"A year and a half. Why?"

Jesse turned to look at Blaine, who just looked back at him in confusion, before Jesse let out a loud sigh.

"Blaine we need to talk."

"Ooookay…" Blaine replied, suddenly becoming wary over whatever it was Jesse felt they needed to 'talk' about. He watched as Jesse walked over to where his desk chair sat on the opposite site of the room, dragging it over towards Blaine's bed as Blaine sat up, sitting cross-legged and continuing to feel very confused over whatever it was that was going on.

"Right. Now this is going to sound strange considering we've literally been dorming with each other for only a couple of a days, but I feel this is a very important thing we have to consider and frankly, getting it out of the way now before we're heading for a one way ticket to 'awkward town' is probably a good idea."

"Jesse; what are you talking about?"

The two of them looked at each other for a moment, Jesse watching Blaine with a serious expression on his face and Blaine just feeling very confused – and slightly uncomfortable – about whatever was going on.

"Blaine. I think it's time we instate a little thing I like to call: 'the bro code'."

Jesse nodded to himself, as if the whole thing made the world of sense to everyone, whilst Blaine just continued to watch him as if he had grown an extra head.

"What – what even is a 'bro code'?"

"What! I would have thought that was obvious!"

Blaine just continued to stare at Jesse, and once the other boy finally understood that he had no idea what was going on at all, Jesse let out a loud sigh.

"You really don't have any clue do you?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I knew, Jesse."

"Okay, okay," Jesse said, sitting up straighter in his chair as he did so. "I'll make this simple for you then. You have Kurt. And I'm assuming that things must be good in all aspects of the relationship if it's lasted this long." Blaine wanted to interject, but was instead ignored as Jesse continued to talk. "And I'm a very desirable young man in the prime of his life, who's bound to have many people falling in love with me wherever I go."

Blaine just raised an eyebrow at that. Where was this explanation even going? And - just how highly did Jesse think of himself? Still, Jesse continued to ignore him however.

"Because of these facts, I propose we that we bring the Bro Code into action. It's very simple to understand Blaine. Basically, whenever you need time alone with your kitten, you let me know and I'll be out of the room for the rest of the night. And vice versa for me."

Oh. Now Blaine understood. He remembered that David and Wes had the same sort of system back when they were rooming together at Dalton. Often he had to listen to the complaints that one of them had breeched the agreement they had made of having girlfriends in the dorm and not forewarning the other – mostly because David had a habit of forgetting that their plan had even been put in place most of the time. Only, the two of them had never called it the 'Bro Code' as Jesse seemed to have named it. In fact, Blaine was pretty sure Jesse had just made that name up on the spot.

"So, you mean like, a roommate agreement?"

Jesse stared at Blaine for a second, before shrugging in response.

"Sure, if that's what you'd prefer to call it. It's a pretty dull name though. 'Bro Code' has a better ring to it, don't you think. 'Roommate Agreement' makes it sound like we should be signing some piece of paper. And we're bro's now anyway, wouldn't you say?"

Well, no, not really. Blaine thought. One night of playing video games and cleaning up a room the next morning wasn't what he usually would call as 'being bro's'. However, he decided better than to express such things to Jesse, and just decided to skip the answer.

"Why are you even introducing this now? What prompted this?"

"Well, I was just thinking. You said that you didn't want your date tonight to suck. So … if you needed me out of the room … then letting me know now would be a good idea. And just between us, I think it would be the less scarring option for all three of us. 'Cause you know, walking in on you and Kurt – not sure I want to ever go through _that_ experience."

Blaine just rolled his eyes. Was he actually hearing Jesse correctly? If he agreed to it, Jesse was willing to leave the room for the night, just so that he could invite Kurt over? Where was the Jesse that he had heard so many nightmare stories about? Because the Jesse that was sitting before him, he was definitely not like the demon he had been described as.

"And where would you go Jesse? Because sleeping on a park bench in the middle of the night is not a good idea. Ever."

Truthfully, Blaine had no idea where Jesse would end up staying if he said yes to the agreement. And sure, he may not know him all too well, but Blaine really didn't want Jesse sleeping on a park bench. No one deserved that.

Jesse on the other hand, seemed indifferent to the question. It was almost as if he had everything planned out already, which was actually quite a scary thought for Blaine to consider. How long had he really been waiting to mention this whole idea to Blaine?

"Easy. I'll go dorm with Rachel. She won't mind."

"…. I think she _will _mind. Jesse you two do _not_ get along."

"So? It'll be a chance to try and get along then. I don't understand why she doesn't like me anyway, she used too."

_Maybe because you have a history of being rotten to her _Blaine thought to himself. Instead of speaking his mind however, he just let out a sigh.

"I don't know Jesse…"

"Oh come on Blaine, it works for everyone. Rachel and I could do with working a few things out anyway, especially now we're going to be stuck in the same class as each other. She can't remain mad at me forever."

"Oh: believe me, she can," Blaine said, knowing very well that Rachel was the type of person who could very easily remain mad at Jesse for as long as she wanted.

"Well, we'll never know unless we try. And what better way to try than tonight? I really don't understand why you're so hesitant about this Blaine. After all, you're the one getting the better side of the deal."

Well yes, that was true. He _was_ getting the better deal. But still, Blaine really didn't want to see Rachel get upset or hurt out of all of this. She was one of his best friends first and foremost, and he'd come to care for her as sort of a sister. He'd heard from both her and Kurt about what had happened the last few times her and Jesse had crossed paths.

But that was just it. The two of them really did need to start sorting out their differences, especially since they were taking the same class, and would most likely be working together on more than one occasion. And Jesse, he seemed enthusiastic about the whole idea (perhaps a little too enthusiastic but, well, Jesse was excitable over anything it seemed). And if Jesse seemed to like the idea of trying to get to friend level with Rachel, well, that was a good thing then, wasn't it?

"... Okay. But don't pester Rachel too much. And ask her first. If she's completely against babysitting you for one night, then no."

"Awesome!" Jesse said, beaming as he bounced up in his seat. "Operation Bro Code has been put into place."

"Oh and another thing. Jesse, we are _not_ calling this thing the 'Bro Code'."

"But Blaine! I don't want to call it 'The Roommate Agreement'. That sounds terrible. Where the heck did that even come from anyway?"

"Wes and David loved watching the Big Bang Theory. But anyway, that's not the point. Just – think of a better name than the Bro Code. Please?"

Jesse sat and thought for a moment, whilst Blaine moved to lie back down on his bed, deciding to catch a five-minute nap while he had the chance. It was only a few moments until Jesse snapped his fingers, having decided upon another name.

"Okay, how about 'Jesse's Great Idea On How To Get Laid'?"

"… You know what? On second thought, keep the Bro Code. I like that." Blaine replied, suddenly very concerned that Jesse's name ideas were just infinitely worse than what his original one was.

"Success!" Jesse said, getting up from his chair and moving it back onto the other side of the room from where he got it from.

Once he was done, he sat down on the floor again, flicking through the comic books he was previously preoccupied with as Blaine continued to try to get some sleep. He was just about to drift off before Jesse's voice filled the room again.

"Oh, and Blaine."

"Mmm?"

"You should probably book those reservations. That pizza place get's busy pretty quickly."

* * *

><p>Jesse is a roommate who has stupid, stupid ideas.<p>

I've been battling over this chapter for a few days, but decided to get it up anyway. I already have the next chapter in the works, so hopefully I'll be able to get that up pretty soon before things take a slow pace for a few weeks. Next chapter has a bit more of Rachel to enjoy, so look out for that. And yes, Blaine and Kurt are good now. They've sorted everything out for the time being, and next time you meet them (as well as the others), they'll be in the world of college work. Hooray! (I guess?)

I guess this is a short authors note for now. Next time I'll have more to say, so I'll wait till then to say it all. Until then, I hope you enjoy how things are progressing so far.


	7. Chapter 5

"She was good Kurt. And by good I don't mean as in 'oh she was an okay singer'. I mean she was actually amazing."

Kurt was sitting at his desk, working through some notes that had to finish off. It had been a week since classes had started for all four of the friends, and suddenly it felt as if they had been doing nothing but college work forever. As he continued to focus on his work, Kurt was forced to listen as Rachel complained about her newest competitor: a girl from her theatre class that had quickly been labelled as Rachel's rival. It wasn't the first time he had heard her whine about the girl, in fact he'd heard a lot of it lately. It was becoming a rather common occurrence even.

"Rachel, I'm sure no matter how good Harmony is, she doesn't shed a light against your talent." He replied. Over the years Kurt had learnt one thing about how to shut Rachel up, and that was to shower the girl in compliments. And nine times out of ten, it usually worked. Unfortunately for Kurt though this time: it wasn't.

"Believe me Kurt, if you heard her sing you would not be so calm right now. Even Jesse had to admit to how good she sounded. And we were both trying to find faults and flaws. But there wasn't any. She had perfect pitch, she owned the song she sang and most of all, everyone in that room loved her."

Sighing, Kurt turned around in his chair to look at Rachel, who had taken to sitting huddled on her bed clutching a pillow to her chest whilst she sulked. At least one thing good had happened out of all this, and that was that Rachel and Jesse had somehow managed to fix the awkward air between them and become somewhat friends. Kurt thought it was a good thing for the two of them - especially seeing as they were in the same class as each other. Rachel needed someone like Jesse in her class, someone who completely understood what she was upset about more than Kurt or Blaine could. He wasn't saying he had gotten used to Jesse being around - because quite honestly, Jesse still managed to find ways to annoy him - but Kurt had to admit that he wasn't as terrible a person as he remembered him to be.

"Look, tomorrow it's your turn to sing, and I'm sure you'll be just as good as her. Better even."

Rachel shared and uneasy look at Kurt, and he could tell from her expression that she didn't believe one word.

"You know your voice is amazing Rachel. Just, walk in their tomorrow and show everyone else how it's done."

Rachel was about to reply, before she was interrupted by a knock on the door. The two turned to look as it opened, watching as Blaine let himself into the room.

"Hey you two. Jesse and I were just about to go down for dinner and I thought I'd come and -" Blaine paused mid sentence, his brow furrowing as he noticed Rachel. "What's wrong?"

"Harmony." Kurt said simply, turning back to his work as Blaine shut the door behind him. Blaine moved to walk over to Rachel, sitting down beside her on the bed just as the girl let out a small snivel.

"What happened? Did she offend Barbra or something?"

"I wish. Then I'd actually have a valid reason for disliking her so much," Rachel said, before resting her head on Blaine's shoulder. "It's terrible Blaine. She's just - she's _so_ good." There was a pause, and Blaine wrapped an arm around Rachel as Kurt continued finishing off the notes that he was writing. She sniffed again, cuddling in closer to her friend. "Today we started the singing performances that I told you guys about. You remember, the ones where they spilt us into two groups and had us all work on solo songs, trying to encourage us all to work together?" She paused for a second, and Blaine nodded to show he understood. "Well anyway, her group went first and she was just - she was fabulous Blaine. Her song choice to begin with was perfect, and her voice... Jesse and I tried to find any fault we could but there was nothing. I've never heard someone sing as well her other than myself before- " A cough from the other side of the room could be heard "well, other than Kurt too of course."

Blaine turned his gaze to look at Kurt for a second, knowing that the other boy was satisfied with the answer as he continued with his work. Blaine just rolled his eyes before returning his attention back to Rachel, rubbing her arm with his hand as he tried to reassure her.

"It's not fair Blaine! This is supposed to be my shot, my chance, and suddenly now I'm going to be fighting for everything again."

"Well, who said a little competition was a bad thing?" He paused, and Rachel turned to look at him in confusion. "You always perform better when you're fighting for it Rachel. Remember all those times you and Kurt would fight for solos back when the two of you were in New Directions? The _both_ of you used to drag me to those performances when I had a free afternoon at Dalton, and all I could remember was that whenever you two were competing with each other, the both of you never sounded better. And that was because you were fighting for something you really, truly wanted."

He sent a small smile in Rachel's direction, before squeezing her arm lightly and continuing.

"Harmony may be good, but you're better. Because you're Rachel Berry. And tomorrow, when it's your turn to shine, you're going to sing your song so amazingly that _she'll_ be the one that's worried. Because you have one thing she doesn't have, and that's that special charm that only you carry around with you."

Kurt smiled then, setting his pen down on the desk. He turned around in his chair slowly to look at the two of them sitting next to each other on the bed.

"You're right," Rachel said, moving so that she was now facing Blaine instead of using him as a pillow. "I just need to show her how it's _really_ done."

"That's the girl we know." Blaine replied, smiling at her as she sat up straighter. Kurt moved from his chair to sit beside Blaine on Rachel's bed, turning to look at Rachel as he did so. She smiled at him, and the both of them reached out over where Blaine sat in between them, clasping their hands together tightly.

"Later on after dinner we can run through that song a few more times if you want. I've finished with my notes for now, and I know that you'll be nagging me for help."

"Thank you Kurt," She replied, nodding as she did so. "Thank both of you. What would I do without you two?"

"It's what we're here for," Blaine said. They sat in silence for a few moments, before Blaine decided to finally break the silence. "Now, how about we go and find where Jesse's run off too and disappear for dinner? Before he starts whining again."

Blaine and Rachel moved to stand up, busy making her way over to the door before pausing when they realised that Kurt was still sitting on the bed. They watched him, before exchanging a glance. Blaine told Rachel to find Jesse and that the two of them would meet them there and she walked off with a small smile on her face, leaving the door open as she did so. Ignoring it, Blaine walked over to Kurt, who after sensing Rachel had left looked up at Blaine with a calm expression on his face.

"What you said to here was nice Blaine."

Blaine blinked, before smiling bashfully.

"Don't be like that, it's what she needed to hear." Kurt stood up, moving to stand in front of Blaine. "You always know what to say."

"Not always."

Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist, pulling him in closer towards him. Neither of them broke their gaze, and Kurt just smirked as the other boy continued.

"There's this one guy that often makes me stumble over my own words."

"Must be some guy to have that affect over you. You should introduce us sometime."

"Maybe." Blaine replied, chuckling slightly as Kurt pulled him into a hug.

"But honestly Blaine, thank you. Rachel's been sulking about what happened ever since she got back from class, and I was beginning to really worry over not knowing what to say or do to make her feel better and look at the bigger picture. I was beginning to run out of ideas."

"Did you try showering her in compliments?"

"Yes and it didn't work." Kurt pulled away, rolling his eyes as he did so. "If I knew all she needed was a quick change on perspective, then finishing those notes would have happened a lot sooner."

"Rachel just needs to understand that she's in a different place now. She may have been the main star on the stage throughout high school, but she's in New York now. The place where everyone goes when they want to try and fulfil their dreams. There's going to be so much competition out there and she needs to know that sulking about other peoples talents isn't going to get her anywhere. A quick reminder every now and again that she has something really special and that she only needs to hold on to that and she'll be fine, that's all she needs." Blaine smiled as he looked up at Kurt. "And we're her friends, so that's exactly what were going to give her. After all, we're all here to support each other whenever we can."

"So what your saying is - next time she's upset and you're not around, that's what I should do? Keep telling her to push forward and keep trying?"

"Exactly. Rachel's a fighter, just like you are. But just like you, she forgets that sometimes."

Kurt found himself frowning at that.

"When did I ever forget how utterly fabulous I am?"

"Does panicking about College acceptance letters count?"

Kurt rolled his eyes at that, and Blaine just held his hands up in defence as he tried hard not to laugh.

"That's not fair, we all panicked about that Blaine. Including you."

"I never said I didn't! You just asked a question!" Blaine replied, letting out the laughter that he could no longer hold back. Kurt glared at him playfully, before giving in and smiling. Noticing that Kurt was just amused by what he had said, Blaine reached out for his hand, tugging on it as he did so.

"Can we please go and have dinner now? I didn't want to say it earlier when Rachel was upset, but I'm kind of hungry..."

"Honestly Blaine, when _aren't_ you hungry?" Kurt shook his head slightly, before finding himself being pulled in the direction of the door. "Okay! Okay! Stop pulling! We'll go."

"Yay! Food!"

"And to think for a moment back there I thought my boyfriend was actually mature. Nope, he's still a five year old."

* * *

><p>There's the sound of the door opening, and then clicking closed. From where he's lying sprawled out on top of the bed, scrolling through his laptop as he was attempting to work, Blaine looked up expecting to see the face of his roommate. His eyes grew wide however when he realized that it wasn't Jesse who had walked in.<p>

"Kurt?"

Standing by the door somewhat sheepishly was Kurt, carrying a folder with him.

"Sorry." He said, sharing a small smile in Blaine's direction. "Do you mind if I finish some work here? It's either that or the studio, but I just came from there and really do not fancy walking all the way back."

"Sure. Erm, you can use my desk if you want..." Blaine replied, still slightly stunned as to why he was in the room. Kurt stood up straighter, his smile growing as he made his way over to the desk.

"Thanks," He answered, taking out some of his designs that were sitting in the folder and placing them on top of the desk as he did so.

"Don't mention it," Blaine tried to concentrate once more at the words that were written on his laptop screen, his brows furrowing slightly before he turned to look back at Kurt once again. "Just one quick question though - but what's wrong with your room?"

"One word: Rachel." Kurt sat down on the desk chair, rolling his eyes as he spoke. He reached over to pick up the pencil case he had also brought along with him, moving to take out a pencil that he could use. "I stayed a bit late after class to finish a design off before heading back to the dorm. Which apparently, wasn't the best idea I've had. When I got back she was sitting there skyping away to Finn. And don't get me wrong, I don't mind at all - but it's really hard to concentrate when they're both chatting away in the background."

"You're lucky that Jesse isn't here yet then," Blaine replied, turning his attention back to the laptop screen sitting in front of him.

"I saw him on my way back, which is how I knew your room would be a safe place to work."

"Oh."

Blaine blinked. He honestly hadn't been expecting that answer. Usually, whenever him and Kurt studied and helped each other out with homework before, Kurt often told him off for being too much of a distraction. Which may or may not have been the case - but could Blaine really be to blame if he got bored of his work quickly and found Kurt more interesting than whatever his history project was? Still, as fun as being a distraction was, Blaine really had to finish the essay he was working on. Which meant Kurt was safe to actually get on with his own work for once.

... It didn't mean that Blaine's essay had grown anymore interesting to him though.

"How is Rachel anyway?" He found himself asking after a few moments of silence passed between them. Blaine watched as Kurt looked at him out of the corner of his eye for a second before quickly turning back to his work, shrugging his shoulders in response.

"Okay, I suppose. We didn't really talk when I got back."

"So she didn't mention anything about how her singing thing went today?"

"No," Kurt paused for a moment as if in thought, before returning to his work. "I wanted to ask her, but she didn't look upset when I walked in. And she seemed to be laughing at whatever Finn had said instead of unleashing all her worries to him."

"Well, to me that sounds like a good sign that things went well then," Blaine said, feeling slightly better as he said it. He had truly been wondering about how things went for Rachel, especially after how upset she had seemed to be the day before. He knew that both Kurt and himself knew Rachel would be fine, but that still didn't stop him worrying that Rachel herself would forget that. From what he'd heard before and from his own past experiences of knowing Rachel, the girl tended to do that when she found herself in competition with someone else.

"I _hope_ it's a good sign," Kurt replied, breaking Blaine out of his train of thought. "Because if it isn't, that would mean that tonight I'd be stuck with ice cream and old reruns of friends. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing - but there's got to be a limit to how many times that can happen in one week."

"Ouch," Blaine chuckled. "She probably did fine. If she was upset she would be curled up in her room already, and definitely not laughing with Finn."

"She did what she could. She could sing the song in her sleep. In fact, I think I may have heard her do exactly that at one point," Kurt frowned as Blaine laughed once again. He turned his attention to look over at where his boyfriend lying on his bed, and sent a small smile in his direction, noticing as Blaine sent him one back in return.

"Not only that, but she had you to help her." Blaine said, moving to sit up on the bed, crossing his legs as he did so "And if there's one thing I've learnt over the years, it's that you and Rachel are terrifying together when you're both determined."

"Says the one that liked to bathe in the Warbler spotlight."

Blaine shrugged. "It's not my fault that I'm likeable."

"You mean it's not your fault that you're an attention seeker?" Kurt replied, raising an eyebrow and looking back at him in amusement. Blaine pouted at the comment, dropping his lower lip as he continued to look up at Kurt and acting as if what he said had really offended him. Kurt however just laughed, turning in his chair so that he was looking at Blaine properly as he crossed his arms across his chest. "The kicked puppy look isn't going to work for me Blaine."

Blaine's pout just grew more prominent, and he decided to push his laptop to one side. Oh, well, his work was important - but now Kurt was the one that was being the distraction. Or so Blaine let himself believe. He sort of had been ever since he'd walked into the room, really, as it meant that Blaine had someone to at least talk to instead of spending however long looking at a computer screen. Kurt seeming to have sensed what was Blaine was up too, smiled to himself as he continued to watch his boyfriend act adorable before him.

"Should I take back what I said earlier about it being safe to work here? Because now you're a distraction."

"Distractions can be good," Blaine said, moving to make some room on his bed for Kurt to sit. He patted the spot beside him, looking up at Kurt and smirking. Kurt raised an eyebrow and let out a sigh.

"Really Blaine?"

"You said that you stayed behind to finish off some work earlier. That means you really haven't had much of a chance to relax. And since you're here now..."

Kurt watched his boyfriend for a few moments longer, noticing the way his eyes seemed to shine in hopefulness. Letting out another sigh, he got up, moving to sit down next to Blaine. Blaine's smirk grew, happy to see that he had won.

"There is literally no way I am going to get any of my work done with you around."

"Ditto," Blaine shot back, wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist once the other boy had sat down so that he could pull him in closer. He nuzzled his face into Kurt's neck, happy to be close to him. It seemed like forever since they really had a chance to have a moment alone together, even if in reality it was only a week. Still, with the amount of work that had been thrown at them since classes had started up, time just seemed to drag on.

"Are you happy there?" Kurt asked, and Blaine could hear that amusement that he was trying to hide in his voice. He held on tighter to Kurt, nodding into his neck.

"Very." He mumbled, causing Kurt to laugh.

"Oh my god, how did I end up being attacked by the cuddle monster? I just wanted to work."

"You can work later. Busy cuddling now."

"Blaine don't even pretend that you have any plans for working now."

"..."

Kurt sighed, deciding to relax in Blaine's embrace instead of pretending to not enjoy it. Because really, who was he even trying to kid? He loved it when Blaine turned into a cuddly ball of mush. Sure it was probably inconvenient that he had chosen to do so in the middle of them both trying to work and have a somewhat serious conversation, but Blaine was right. He hadn't had a chance to relax, and what would a few minutes hurt. Giving in, Kurt wrapped his hands around where Blaine's were wrapped around his middle.

"I miss cuddling," Blaine mumbled, his face still buried deep into the curve of Kurt's neck.

"Hmm," Kurt hummed in response, letting his eyes fall closed, sighing again as Blaine's breath tickled him when he spoke.

"Who's stupid idea was it for us to dorm separately again?"

"That would be yours sweetie."

"Yeah well, next time I decide to have a seemingly smart idea - don't agree with me on it." Blaine replied, before beginning to press kisses to Kurt's neck.

Kurt was just about to reply when he was interrupted by the sound of the door open. His eye's shot open and he felt Blaine pause in what he was doing, both of them staring at who it was that had decided to walk in.

"... Am I interrupting something?"

"No," Kurt said loudly, pulling out of Blaine's tight grip and ignoring said boyfriend as he pouted and glared at his roommate, clearly upset that he had chosen that very moment to walk in. Blaine watched as Kurt scooted over to the end of the bed, reaching out to try and grab his designs from where they were perched upon the nearby desk. "I was working."

"Yeah, because that _totally_ looked like you were working Kurt."

"Shut up Jesse." Kurt shot back, before deciding to just get up and sit at the desk he had been sitting at beforehand. Jesse turned back to Blaine who was still seated on the bed, before closing the door behind him and dumping his stuff.

"This is exactly why we have a bro code."

"We weren't even doing anything Jesse."

"Not for lack of trying," Blaine grumbled, grabbing his laptop and pulling it into his lap.

"I don't even care." Jesse sighed, flopping down onto his own bed. "Blaine broke the bro code."

"I did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did _not_. We were just cuddling. Plus that bro code is stupid anyway."

"Hey! Take that back! You weren't complaining when it worked to your advantage the other night!"

"Oh my _god_ am I really hearing this right now?" Kurt interrupted, staring between both of the two bickering roommates. Jesse and Blaine turned to look at Kurt, and silence filled the room. Jesse's brow knitted together in confusion before he turned back to Blaine, pointing at Kurt as he did so.

"Why's Kurt here anyway?"

"He wanted a quiet place to work," Blaine shrugged, returning to the essay he had neglected earlier.

"Yes, and there is literally no hope of me finding that here now that you've returned Jesse."

"... Meaning?" Jesse asked. "What's wrong with your own room anyway?"

"Rachel was skyping Finn. I couldn't concentrate."

"Ah," Jesse replied, nodding as if he understood. Kurt was about to say something in response before he quickly stopped himself, suddenly realising something. Putting the pencil he had picked up earlier back down onto the table, he quickly turned his attention back to Jesse.

"I didn't get a chance to talk to her about it earlier - but how was class today for you and Rachel?" He asked. At the question, Blaine's attention perked back up, and he decided to tune into the conversation.

"It was good. Class is class," Jesse said, before looking back between Kurt and Blaine and suddenly realising what it was that Kurt really meant by the question. "Oh, you're asking about what happened on the Rachel vs. Harmony front." He paused, before shrugging and continuing. "It went fine, honestly. Rachel sang her song perfectly as she usually does, and people loved it. If you expect me to say that Harmony seemed threatened by her, she didn't. In fact, she seemed to really enjoy the performance too."

"I said it was nothing but friendly competition for her," Blaine muttered.

"Yeah, I guess. They're not really competing at the moment though."

"In Rachel's eyes, they are." Kurt chipped in.

"Competition will be good for her though." Blaine said, before returning back to his laptop. "As I said yesterday, she performs better when she's fighting for something."

"Yeah well, in that case the whole class is pretty damn competitive. After all we're all trying to achieve the same thing."

"Which you've failed to achieve more than once," Kurt reminded Jesse.

"Details. Tiny, _tiny_ details."

Kurt just rolled his eyes, turning away from Jesse to look back down at his work. Maybe if he went back to his own room he'd find that Rachel had finally finished her conversation with Finn and he'd be able to concentrate without any distractions. Well, other than the distraction of Rachel talking about how her day went and how well she had sang in class. There was really no escaping that fate for Kurt even if he tried.

"You guys will be fine." Blaine replied to Jesse, busy typing as he did so. "If the college thought you were so terrible Jesse you wouldn't be here now. And Rachel always finds a way to get what she wants."

"Which is why I wouldn't be surprised to see her on broadway in a few years time. She'll manage to weasel her way into making it big somehow." Kurt said, moving to pick up all his belongings and putting them back in his folder. Blaine noticed and frowned at Kurt from above his laptop.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to my dorm. I want to check if Rachel's finished so that I can get back to work."

"We're not that distracting..." Blaine began, but was quickly interrupted by Jesse laughing. He turned to glare at his roommate, and Kurt just raised an eyebrow as he moved to stand up.

"You're not a bad distraction. _He's_ an annoying one though," Kurt nodded in Jesse's direction before picking up his folder. He caught sight of Blaine's expression as the older boy turned to look at him, and a she smiled as he noticed that Blaine was pouting at him again. "Don't pout. I'll see you at dinner in an hour or so."

"You two aren't going to kiss now are you?" Jesse asked warily.

Kurt just rolled his eyes, before waving goodbye to Blaine and leaving him in the room alone with Jesse. As soon the door closed behind him, Blaine turned to glare at his roommate.

"That was your fault."

"What - what was my fault?" Jesse raised his arms in defence, and Blaine watched him for a moment before sighing and returning to his laptop. Jesse heard him mumble something that sounded like 'you know very well what', and he resisted the urge to frown at the question. Because he really hadn't done anything ... had he? Instead, he decided to grin, before falling to lean back on his bed. "If you mean Kurt leaving to actually get something productive done, that's not my fault at all. After all, it was _you_ who appeared to be 'the distraction' when I walked in on you two."

He heard Blaine sigh, and Jesse bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. Instead, he turned his head so that he could see Blaine, watching for a moment as he typed away on his laptop. A devilish smirk wormed it's way upon Jesse's face, and Jesse decided then that if he was going to be blamed for being a distraction, then he was very well going to live up to that reputation.

"So I think we should go over that bro code again. Seeing as I think you've forgotten what it actually _is_ Blaine."

As he heard Blaine groan before hitting his head onto the laptop, Jesse let out a snort. Yeah, distracting his roommate by embarrassing him was going to be a lot of fun.

* * *

><p>I've been looking over this chapter a few times and really wondered about it to be honest, and in the end I just gave in and decided to post it. An update is better than no update, right? And it's not like I can't always edit it anyway at a later date. So Rachel's finally discovered she has more competition in New York then she's used too. Looks like Finn's advice from before is suddenly starting to make some sense to the poor girl. At least she has her friends with her to support her along the way!<p>

About the next update: I know I try to get a chapter out a week, but that just won't be possible for a while. I will be away on vacation and preparing for nanowrimo, so I honestly have no idea when the next chapter will be updated. I don't want to put a date on it because then that becomes a deadline and deadlines are not fun in any respect. You will see one about though, don't worry and _definitely_ at some point in November. I'll probably be writing more when I'm away from my computer and can't sleep anyway.

That's all really for this authors note. :)


	8. Chapter 6

Kurt walked into the courtyard, having previously left where he had been spending the majority of his morning working on some of his designs in one of the classrooms. He had no lessons to attend that day, and so had decided to use his time to get ahead on his work instead. However, it had since turned to lunchtime, and Kurt had agreed to meet with Blaine after the other mans lessons had finished so that the two of them could partake in their usual ritual of having coffee together.

As he spotted Blaine, he noticed that he was with a few of who Kurt had grown to recognize as his classmates. Two of them appeared to be laughing at some joke that had been shared between them all, whilst the other that was with them seemed to smile and just simply follow with the pack, keeping a rather close distance to Blaine as he did so. A distance that was somewhat ... _too close_. Kurt felt something within him stir, having a very good idea in his mind just who exactly the person was. After all, he had heard enough stories from Blaine about those he shares his classes with. Still, he could be wrong...

Tightening his grip on his bag strap ever so slightly, Kurt quickened his pace to walk over to the group, trying not to seem too obvious in his haste to approach them. Once he reached the group, he tapped Blaine on the back, breaking out into a rather large smile as his boyfriend turned around to face him.

"Hello -" Kurt began, before he was suddenly interrupted.

Before he even knew what was happening, Blaine had forced their lips together, kissing him passionately. Kurt's eye's stayed open wide in surprise, having not expected the action and having no idea where it had come from. He noticed that Blaine's eyes were tight shut, and his own attention shifted to the group around them as he let out a small 'mmph' sound. As he did so, he noticed that two of Blaine's friends were staring at them, both of them wearing amused expressions upon their faces. And standing beside them was the other, the one that had been trying to get close to Blaine only moments before. And judging by the sour expression he was wearing on his face, Kurt suddenly understood everything very clearly.

He turned back to face Blaine just as he began to pull away, and Kurt just stood there, completely stunned as to what had just happened. He watched as Blaine smiled at him somewhat sheepishly, a blush appearing on his cheeks at the reality of what he had just done sunk into his mind. Kurt on the otherhand just blinked, noting that Blaine's hand was still tightly secured onto his arm.

Kurt wasn't sure how he was supposed to act, or what he was even supposed to say. Instead he just continued to stand there for a while, trying to come back to the real world. It wasn't unusual for Blaine to kiss him like that - quite the opposite in fact - but it _was_ highly unusual for him to do so in a public place. Especially with how the both of them were about showing affection outside of their own comfortable zones.

Still, although somewhat flustered by what had happened, Kurt noticed that Blaine just continued to attempt to play it off, acting as if it was a natural thing for the two of them. And Kurt - having grasped the situation he seemed to have walked into - decided to just play along. At least this one time.

"Hi," Blaine said breathlessly, his smile wide. The hand that was tight around Kurt's arm suddenly moved, allowing Blaine to link their arms together. Their gazes never left each other, the both of them staring into each others eyes - Kurt still trying to get over his shock and Blaine just, well just being Blaine, his gaze shining somewhat.

"So - coffee?" Came Blaine's question, and it was enough to bring Kurt somewhat back to reality. He blinked, before nodding, acting as if what had happened before hadn't shaken him.

"Yes. Coffee. Coffee is good," Kurt replied, cursing himself for his lack of being able to form a proper, coherent sentence. Blaine on the otherhand didn't seem to notice - or if he did he didn't mind - and just smiled brighter, turning his head to glance at his friends.

"So - we'll be off then. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Laters, Blainers." Came their reply, along with some sort of mumbling from a certain someone.

Blaine turned both himself and Kurt around however, ignoring the mumbling as he began to lead them both away, and his arm remained linked with Kurt's. Kurt looked down at it, and that at Blaine, before frowning slightly in question.

"Blaine," he hissed, keeping his voice low so as to not attract anymore attention.

"Ssh," Blaine replied. He took one glance back over his shoulder, before tightening his grip and leaning to speak quietly into his ear. "I'll explain what just happened later."

Kurt nodded, trying to ignore how Blaine's breath tickling his skin sent shivers down his spine. Instead the both of them continued to walk away, and as they did so Kurt began to ponder how the conversation he was expecting about what had just happened would go.

* * *

><p>"So do you want to talk about that display of affection you decided to show earlier or..."<p>

Kurt and Blaine were standing in line at the college coffee shop, waiting to make their orders. They had been rather silent on the journey over and since the events that had happened earlier, the both of them deep in thought. However, Kurt had finally decided - after eventually being able to wrap his head around the entire event of what they needed to discuss - that he had had enough of the silence between them and that he very much wanted to actually talk to the boy beside him.

As he finished speaking, Blaine turned to look at Kurt, a bashful and sheepish expression showing on his face once more before he quickly turned away, finding that his shoes had become very interesting to him all of a sudden.

"I'm sorry Kurt. I didn't think. I was just - I felt uncomfortable back then, and then you appeared - and I did the first thing I thought would help the situation but now I know how it must look from your side of things and oh god. I know how you feel about PDA overall anyway and -"

Blaine was interrupted however as Kurt began to chuckle, and he turned to look back at his boyfriend, his face furrowing into confusion.

"Wait ... why are you laughing at me when I'm trying to apologize?"

"Rather _badly_ at that." Kurt replied, still laughing somewhat as he shook his head slightly.

"I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you," a quick pause, and Kurt found himself coughing as he tried to stop his giggles. Blaine noticed and his face fell, and when he noticed this Kurt continued to speak. "Hey, I promise It's not you I'm laughing at. It's this whole situation, and you were so adorable as you tried to apologize just then and - Blaine, there really is no reason for you to do so. Apologize, I mean."

Kurt stepped forward slightly as the line moved, but Blaine remained rooted to the spot. He watched Kurt, his expression revealing that he was just feeling even more confused after Kurt's words of reassurance. He finally moved to step forward though, having awakened from his slight daze.

"I - don't?"

"No," Kurt replied, the laughter from before still lighting up his voice ever so slightly. "You don't. As I said, I'm not mad or upset. In fact, I find the whole thing sort of funny actually."

"I'm - confused." Blaine said after a moment of hesitation. Because he really was. Kurt had always been careful with PDA in the past. They both had, and with good reason also. In the past Kurt had told him off whenever Blaine would get too clingy in public, in those moments when he'd forget about the judging eyes of those around him and be lost in the bubble that was _KurtandBlaine_. It happened more often than not.

But now ... Kurt wasn't mad? What had changed?

Kurt, sensing Blaine's confusion, sighed as he crossed his arms and turned to face Blaine directly.

"Look, I have a good guess as to why you did what you did. And if I'm right, then I have no reason to be upset or mad. Although, you might want to rethink your ideas a little better if you plan for them to have the effect you would like them to..."

"Oh?"

Kurt watched Blaine for a second before rolling his eyes and smiling.

"Blaine, don't think I don't know you well enough by now. You only act that way when were together in public whenever you're trying to tell someone that you're not interested, and that you're already very much taken. The last time you kissed me like that in public was when _Sebastian_ decided he didn't want to take no for an answer and you finally cracked after a month of him trying but failing in persuing you by sending suggestive - and somewhat creepy - text messages."

"... Oh." Blaine said. And suddenly things were beginning to make a bit more sense to him. Because okay, yeah, that was exactly what he was trying to do. And what choice did he have when the guy who decided to like him wouldn't give in or believe him whenever he told him he had a boyfriend? As if Blaine would ever make Kurt up. As if Blaine _could_ even make someone like Kurt up. Kurt was just ... special. One of a kind. He was everything to Blaine.

"And besides, it's probably about time we had another talk about where we stand on PDA. I've been meaning to bring it up for a while now. Oh, yes two medium drips, and one of those chocolate muffins please," Kurt said as he placed their order, and Blaine turned to look at him again, watching as he did so.

"Who's the muffin for?"

"For you." Kurt simply replied. He moved to the side as they both waited for their orders, Blaine following behind him.

"Oh."

At the sound of Blaine's voice, Kurt let out a sigh, rolling his eyes as he did so.

"Blaine, you really need to find more words in your vocabulary today other than 'oh'. I'm not used to you not being so articulate with your words."

"I really don't know what to say though," Blaine blinked dumbly. He didn't have a clue. Kurt was - was just amazing. He wasn't upset by what happened, in fact he found it funny and quite liked it. He was in a really, really good mood - good enough that he had willing brought a chocolate muffin for Blaine despite how many times he would often complain about 'what was in them'. And Blaine just, he couldn't get his mind around it all. Kurt always had this way of surprising him and acting in the opposite way from what Blaine expected from time to time, and it was one of the many reasons why Blaine loved him. Because Kurt was unpredictable, and he meant that in the best way possible.

"Why do we have to talk about PDA though?" Blaine frowned, finally letting Kurt's earlier words sink into his mind.

"We'll talk about it later," Kurt answered. "It's not a bad thing. Actually; it's a good one, really. But first we're going to talk about what happened earlier some more."

There was the sound of their names called, and Kurt disappeared to go and pick up their orders as Blaine stood there. He wondered what Kurt wanted to talk about with him, and wondering how it could be a good thing.

"Blaine are you going to come and pick up your drink or -"

Blaine was awoken from his daze again by the sound of Kurt's voice, and he shook his head.

"Right. Yes. Sorry." He stumbled, reaching over to grab his drink and rushing off to all the extra things he needed for it. He could feel Kurt's gaze on him as he watched him, waiting for him so that they could go and sit down, and Blaine was pretty sure that Kurt had that loving smile on his face. Sure enough, when Blaine turned to meet his gaze he was met by said smile, and Blaine felt his heart grow about five sizes at the sight of it.

The two of them made their way over to their normal table, sitting down and making themselves comfortable. As Blaine shoved his bag onto the side of the chair Kurt placed the muffin he had brought on the table, before helping himself to some of the sugar that Blaine had picked up earlier.

"So: who was it this time?" He asked, continuing the conversation that the two of them were having before. Blaine looked up, noticing that Kurt really didn't seem bothered in the slightest about what they were discussing, and Blaine found a smile creeping its way onto his own face as he realised once again that no matter what, nothing would be big enough to tear him and Kurt away from each other. Not now. Not with how far they'd come.

"Zack" He sighed out, suddenly feeling exhausted as he remembered how obvious the guy had been acting towards him for the majority of the day.

"The one in your music class?"

"The one and only." A pause, and he took a sip of his drink. "I don't get it. I've told him time and time again that I'm not interested, but that just seems to spur him on even more. It's like, when is he ever going to understand what I say and when no means no?"

"Well if the expression he was wearing earlier was anything to go on..." Kurt smirked behind his own coffee cup, his gaze falling onto his boyfriend sitting across from him. Blaine looked up, swallowing the coffee that he had drunk and frowned.

"I thought you said I had to rethink my ideas on how I got my messages across to people?"

"You do," Kurt shrugged in response. "Because although kissing your boyfriend passionately in front of your friends and the person who's trying to presue you may have worked to your advantage a little while ago, it might not be as effective in the future."

Blaine groaned, closing his eyes at Kurt's words.

"Kurt, I seriously hope that this isn't going to happen again in the future," He let out a loud sigh. "Is it so hard to know that I'm happy as it is? That I love you, and being with you? I mean how many times do I have to say it before people understand? And why should I have to keep saying it? I should be able to just say it once, and that should be the end of it."

Kurt watched his boyfriend from across the table, noticing how he was growing agitated and upset by the dilemma he was facing, and Kurt felt a small, sad smile playing on his own lips. Putting his coffee cup back down on the table, Kurt reached over for Blaine's hand, grabbing a hold of it tightly and making sure that Blaine was watching him as he began to speak.

"Blaine, you need to understand that some people just don't take no for an answer. You _know_ that. And as annoying as it is for you - and for me, because I hate seeing you get hit on by other men as much as you do - those sorts of people are not going to change overnight. You are desirable, wonderful, and beautiful man Blaine, and that just makes it so easy for people to fall in love with you."

Blaine smiled slightly, looking down at where Kurt's hand met his. He let out another sigh before reaching for his coffee cup, taking a long sip of the hot liquid. As he did so, he turned his gaze up at Kurt, noticing the reassuring smile on his face and the glimmer in his eyes. Blaine couldn't help but feel his heart grow warm at the sight. They had both been through this sort of drama before, back when they were still at a fairly early stage of their relationship. Back when it was seen as something that could tear them apart - and almost had. However they had pulled through it then, both coming out stronger and more trusting with one another than ever before. Just knowing that, Blaine could understand that even if Zack continued the way he was now, or if anyone tried to come between them in this way, nothing would change between him and Kurt. They had both grown too strong for someone on the outside to just enter their lives and break them apart. And besides, Blaine simply loved Kurt too much to let that happen.

A peaceful silence had fallen over them in the busy coffee shop, until Kurt decided to break it by speaking. His grip on Blaine's hand tightened as he sat back in his chair slightly.

"Blaine, if he continues to make you feel uncomfortable though, you have to speak to me about it. I don't want this to become a big issue for you, especially if he starts pushing too far and not understanding when he's crossing a line," Kurt said, his voice growing serious as he played with his boyfriends fingers absentmindedly. Shrugging slightly, he continued. "And if things do get too bad - well, I'm more than happy to get the claws out and make sure to put Zack right back in his proper place if needs be. I tend to be good at doing that."

His attention turned to Blaine again, smirking slightly as he noticed the other mans smile had grown just the smallest amount. Blaine simply stared back at Kurt in awe for a moment before shaking his head, his grin still prominent upon his features. Kurt raised an eyebrow at him, mocking confusion although he was still smirking himself.

"You don't believe that I would?"

"No, I know very well that you're telling the truth," Blaine replied, turning his gaze on Kurt again. His grin morphed into a smile again, and he watched Kurt for a brief moment, just taking a moment to admire as he sat across from him, wondering to himself for what must have been the millionth time just how he had managed to get as lucky and as blessed to have such a person in his life.

"Thank you though," He replied, his voice calm, and his eyes shining with all the emotion he was trying to put into his words. Blaine moved his free hand to lay on top of where Kurt's was clasped with his other, squeezing it ever so slightly as if grounding himself to believe he was there with him.

"It means a lot Kurt, but you honestly don't have to do that. I won't let it get that far, not this time." He paused, shuddering slightly as he remembered the walking disaster that was Sebastian. "It won't come to that."

Kurt smiled, but Blaine noticed that it didn't quite reach his eyes this time around.

"Let's hope so," He said, before bringing his own coffee cup up to his face and taking a sip. Blaine was about to say something in response, to reassure Kurt - because really, even if he was slightly nervous, he had absolutely no reason to be - before Kurt interrupted him, instead trying to change the subject quickly.

"Aren't you going to eat the muffin?"

Blaine's eyes darted to where the muffin in question sat, before reaching over to pull at a piece of it. His gaze turned back to Kurt quickly, noticing how he was trying to look calm, normal; drinking from his coffee cup once more. He was acting as if nothing was bothering him, however Blaine knew him better than that. Swallowing a lump that had gathered in the back of his throat, Blaine decided to once again try to say what it was that was on his mind.

"Kurt, don't let what's happening with Zack get to you. He means nothing, and, hopefully, he's got the idea by know that I'm not lying when I say I have someone special already. After all, you said so yourself that if the expression he wore earlier was anything to go by -"

"I know Blaine," Kurt interrupted, his smile tightening slightly. "I know. It's just - I can't help it." There was a hesitant pause, before he continued. "I'm not worried about the possibility of you running off with him and leaving me, because I know that wouldn't ever happen. I do however worry that _he_ won't leave _you_ alone."

"He will," Blaine replied. "And I totally understand you're worries. I get them all the time."

Kurt's brow furrowed in confusion then, and he titled his head as he stared back at Blaine.

"What do you mean?"

"You mean to tell me you don't see it?" Blaine asked, his eye's widening in disbelief. There was a pause, and Blaine took the fact that Kurt didn't answer him and how he kept staring at him as indication that he didn't. "You never notice when a waiter flirts with you whenever we go out for a meal? Or - the time we went out for drinks on our first week in New York and that guy kept hitting on you -"

"So _that_ was the reason you acted that way," Kurt breathed out, his voice sounding somewhat amused. He found himself needing to laugh again and tried to stifle his laughter, the action only causing Blaine to frown once again. "I was wondering why you kept glaring at that guy throughout the night, but I decided to ignore it, knowing you'd talk to me if it was serious. I honestly just thought he was being friendly."

"Being friendly what - no way. No way. He wanted to be _more_ than friends with you Kurt."

"I highly doubt that." Kurt replied, chuckling slightly as he moved to settle his coffee cup down on the table once again.

Blaine blinked a him in surprise until suddenly a thought hit him. Is that what Kurt really believed? Had Kurt really been oblivious to all the attention he'd attracted on countless occassions? Blaine had always just considered that Kurt didn't care for it - not once did he think that Kurt didn't even see it for what it was.

"Not that it matters if it's true anyway," Kurt continued on, picking at a loose thread that he had not noticed on his cardigan before turning to look back at Blaine. "I mean, it's not going to change anything. Which is probably why I never notice these things."

Blaine felt something within him clench tightly, and he broke out into a small smile. While he didn't understand how Kurt was so oblivious to the effect he had on people around him at times, he couldn't help but feel his heart soar ever so slightly at his words. Because it was exactly how he felt whenever he managed to attract unwanted attention. Blaine didn't want it, nor need it, not when he had Kurt by his side.

"I love you," Blaine said. Because what else was there to be said other than that?

Kurt's eye's softened at Blaine's words, and he smiled lovingly back at him.

"I love you too," He replied quietly, his mind flashing back to a small coffee shop years ago and when those words were shared between them for the first time.

* * *

><p>By the time the two of them had eventually made a slow walk back to the dorms, Blaine and Kurt were involved in a deep conversation - one that had left Kurt laughing over something that the other had said. They had stayed in the coffee shop a while after their talk about Zack, finding a million other things to talk about - as well as discussing Kurt's new thoughts on PDA that he had brought up earlier. Blaine was pleasantly shocked to hear that Kurt had decided that he was fine with minimal amounts of it now, telling him that 'they were out of Lima and in a place more excepting of who they were. Why not relax the rules that they had built to protect themselves previously?'. Blaine had agreed wholeheartedly, wondering to himself how it had never even occurred to him that they could be more relaxed. He guessed it was just that he was already so comfortable around Kurt as it was. However, the two of them agreed that there was a limit, and neither of them wanted to turn into one of <em>those<em> couples that all over each other everywhere. Blaine had never wanted that anyway. But the thought of being able to kiss his boyfriend in public without words being thrown at them made his heart soar.

Kurt was still laughing over what they were currently talking about when Blaine moved to open the door to his dorm, the both of them already knowing that Kurt would stay for a little while before having to return to his own.

When they opened the door however, they didn't expect to be faced with Jesse laying upon his bed, staring at the ceiling above him. As far as they were both aware, he was supposed to be somewhere (wherever 'somewhere' was exactly, neither of them could remember. Mostly because they usually tried to tune Jesse out whenever he spoke about something that didn't seem to be of much importance). Yet there he was, very much in the dorm - however unexpected it was.

As soon as the sound of Blaine clicking the door closed behind them was heard, Jesse turned to look at them, before jumping up on his bed, his eye's growing wide. Kurt stopped walking into the room and just watched him, somewhat wary at the stare Jesse was greeting them with and sensing as Blaine moved to stand by his side.

"You guys are back," Jesse said, his words rushing out quickly that Blaine almost couldn't keep up. Kurt just continued to watch him however, and Jesse shuffled slightly so that he was sitting up a but more.

"I thought you said you weren't going to be here this afternoon?" Kurt asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"I wasn't supposed to be." Jesse shrugged, looking between both Kurt and Blaine for a moment before continuing. "I was _supposed_ to be at some theatre ... thing - it was something for class. But it ended up being cut short." He turned his attention fully onto Kurt then. "Just a warning Kurt: but if I were you, I would not want to go back to your dorm room just yet. You should take some time to prepare yourself for what you'll have to face."

"Prepare myself?" Kurt's bewilderment only grew at Jesse's words. Jesse on the other hand simply nodded, watching Kurt still whilst Blaine looked between the two of them, as if trying to understand what was happening for himself.

"What happened this time?" He asked, his attention falling onto where Jesse was sat cross-legged upon his bed.

"What usually happens when I warn you to be prepared? _Rachel_ happened," Jesse noticed how Kurt and Blaine's expressions both had grown concerned then, and he let a sigh as he continued, shifting in his position slightly. "Rachel's upset by something that happened earlier today. We had to be paired up for some stupid assignment we all have to work on for our class, and Rachel was paired with Harmony."

"Oh god," Kurt mumbled, but Jesse continued only went to continue his story.

"The two of them tried to remain somewhat civil - well Rachel did at least. Harmony doesn't even seem to notice nor care about Rachel's obvious dislike towards her. But everyone else who was around could tell that Rachel was ready to explode at any given second.

And then as I told you earlier, the session ended sooner than was planned. As soon as we were out of the room Rachel decided that _then_ was a good time to blow up. And it _really_ wasn't pretty. Although I _did_ find out that by simply nodding in the right places when she's like that certainly helps, and that she really wasn't in the mood for listening to anything I had to say. It doesn't take a scientist to get that she's not feeling any better now. So, hents your warning. Can I get a thank you now?"

Kurt let out a groan, rolling his eyes as he ignored Jesse's last comment. Blaine turned to look at him, a sympathetic look upon his face, but Kurt didn't notice it as he was too busy wiping his hand over his brow.

"I'm going to have to deal with her complaining about this all night, aren't I?" He sighed, letting his hand fall to his side again.

"I thought this whole thing with Harmony had sorted itself by now?" Blaine found himself asking, turning from where he was watching Kurt to look back at Jesse again, noticing how he was reaching for a comic book now as he shook his head at the question.

"Nope. You just got the beginning of the drama. Now the real mess starts. Congratulations, we have just boarded the Rachel Berry drama train. Our boarding passes are good for an entire year at least, and here's the best part: there's no way off the train once you step on."

Kurt let out a loud sigh, and Blaine - who's expression had grown annoyed by what Jesse had said - turned his attention back to his boyfriend.

"I should go; see if she's alright. There's no avoiding the inevitable."

"You're a braver man than the rest of us Kurt. But don't say I didn't warn you!"

Blaine sent a glare back at Jesse - who was now lounging back upon his bed and directing his attention to what he had grabbed to read - before looking back at Kurt once more. He grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly as he gave him a small, reassuring smile.

"I'm sure she'll be alright. She'll just need someone to rant to about the whole thing with, and then she'll settle down. This is Rachel we're talking about after all."

"Yes. Rachel. The most dramatic one out of the lot of us. You know as well as I do just how long these sorts of things can last with her," Kurt let out another sigh, before shaking his head and tightening his grip on his bag strap with his free hand. "Hopefully I'll find her skyping to Finn or something and he'll be the one she'll unload all of her annoyance about this whole situation to. That would mean I might get away from the disaster zone somewhat."

"Maybe," Blaine replied, unable to stop the smile that appeared on his face at the sound of his boyfriend trying to be optimistic. Kurt turned to him, smiling slightly to himself, before moving to place a small kiss on his cheek.

"See you later I guess," Kurt pulled away so that he could look at Blaine properly.

"Later. I'm sure dinner will be fun, listening to Rachel talk about how her day has been."

"Expect her to take her anger out on her food. That'll be the best part of the show, especially when it gets to her stabbing food."

Blaine let out a laugh, before saying goodbye to Kurt. Kurt shouted a bye to Jesse, receiving one back in response, and he shut the door behind him quietly. Once Kurt had left, Blaine turned to look at Jesse, his expression somewhat concerned.

"Yes Blaine?" Jesse asked, not looking up from the comic he was reading. "What's up with the puppy face?"

"Is Rachel really that upset by what happened?" He found himself asking, ignoring the 'puppy face' comment.

There was a moment of quiet before Jesse finished reading the page he was on. He looked over the top of the comic, studying Blaine's expression for a moment, before finally shrugging his shoulders.

"Blaine, you have been around long enough to know very well how Rachel can act in these circumstances by now. Trust me: she's upset."

At that Blaine found himself sighing, before turning to dump his bag into a chair. If that was true - and really, what reason did Jesse have to _not _be telling the truth? - then dinner really was going to be '_interesting_'. He hated it when Rachel was upset like this. It was different from her usual moods, the ones that they could easily pull her out of. If it was as bad as Jesse was describing, Blaine could only imagine what was in store for Kurt when he got back to his dorm. A confident Rachel Berry, who would be determined to do no less then completely crush her new opponent just to prove how talented she was.

Rachel was never a bad person. No, not really. But Blaine had come to notice from the time he'd known her that at times when she felt threatened, or felt she had to prove herself in some way, Rachel often went above and beyond. And in doing so, she sometimes forgot to add other people into that equation.

To Blaine, it really seemed as if no day was ever really normal for them anymore since they'd started their lives in college.

* * *

><p>Update! Update! Yes, it's that sign - I'm back from vacation! Hello, hello! Anyway...<p>

This update is actually slightly earlier than originally planned. I had originally thought it would be later due to nanowrimo taking up a lot of November, but nanowrimo isn't going as planned for me right now... That, and when I eventually got home I just really wanted to work on this, so I did. And the next chapter is already in draft stage, so that could be up rather soon also! Now, discussion.

The first part of this chapter had been written before I went away. I just worked it out a bit more. The end, I had the idea, but had to write it when I got back. I'm not particularly happy with the second part, but I figured I could always come back and edit it at a later date when I've taken some time aside from it. I've honestly stared at it for ages and just got to a stalemate with it, so I do apologize if it doesn't flow properly, or seems rather ... off to you. It's the best I could right now whilst I tried to get the writing mojo back.

Next chapter: Kurt finds he may have too much on his plate at once, and poor old Rachel is busy still trying to 'play nice' whilst she finds herself working with her targeted competition. Keep a look out, I'll update it soon (hopefully!).


	9. Chapter 7

Rachel heard the sound before she saw Kurt, and it made her freeze instantly from where she stood in the doorway. There was a short silence for a few moments and she didn't move from where she was standing, and sure enough the sound filled the some dorm again. The sound of Kurt being sick from the vague direction of the bathroom.

Quickly dumping all the bags she had carried in with her to the side in her haste Rachel rushed to the bathroom, poking her head around the door and keeping a distance - just incase. She didn't know if Kurt wanted her there or not, and she certainly didn't want to intrude if he was still being sick, but even more than that Rachel needed to make sure that he was alright.

"Kurt?"

There was a pause, and Rachel wasn't sure if she should move further into the room to help him or if she should remain where she was standing for the time being.

"It's okay Rachel. I think the worst is over now."

Hearing the muffled response, Rachel let herself in. As soon as she walked in however she almost let out a gasp at the sight she was met with. There, huddled on the ground and looking so unusually small in the small room was Kurt.

"Oh Kurt," She sighed out, falling onto her knees beside him. Rachel brushed his hair away from his forehead, having noticed how messy it was. Her eyes widened with shock when she realised just how warm he felt.

"Kurt you're burning up!"

"Doesn't surprise me," Kurt but mumbled in response.

Rachel frowned at how sick he was, noticing also how exhausted he looked just by simply sitting there on the ground. Poor Kurt already looked as if he was ready to fall asleep at any given moment, regardless of weather it was on the bathroom floor or not. And that in it's own right was unusual behaviour from him.

"How long have you felt like this?"

She watched as Kurt blinked a few times, as if trying to recall something in his somewhat hazed out state.

"Not sure. I had a headache last night but ignored it - been sick since sometime this morning. Couldn't even make it to class." A pause, and Kurt let out a small whine as he let his head fall heavy onto Rachel's shoulder, his eyes closing shut tightly. "'m Going to be so behind on work."

Rachel frowned at Kurt's words for more than one reason. First, she couldn't understand how she hadn't even noticed Kurt feeling unwell before she left that morning, nor could she understand why Kurt didn't mention anything about a headache the night before. And secondly, she was completely stunned as to how Kurt could possibly be worrying about his classes and work when he was clearly not in a fit state to pay any real attention to them.

Shaking the various thoughts from out of her head Rachel's attention turned back onto her roommate slumped on the ground. Her main focus at that moment was to look after Kurt as best as she could.

"Don't you worry yourself about that," she said, wrapping her hands around one of his arms. Kurt on the other hand had other ideas, and pulled away as he blinked blindly around the room.

"But - if I get behind on it all now -"

"Kurt Hummel you listen to me," Rachel said, her voice coming out somewhat assertive as she reached over to grab Kurt's arm again as he stumbled to move forward. He stopped, and waited for Rachel to continue without turning to look at her. "You know very well that it's impossible for you to get behind on your work after just one day. Now if you even _think_ of telling me you want to work when you're obviously so unwell, well you'll have a nasty shock coming to you."

Kurt visibly slumped slightly, his head drooping as he listened to Rachel's words. She wasn't sure if she was actually getting through to him or if he was just that exhausted, but she decided to continue on anyway.

"Now: you are going to let me drag you back to your bed, and you are going to get some much needed rest. Okay?"

Rachel watched Kurt, expecting him to nod or at least signal her in any way that he had heard her. However, his position didn't change. She didn't really know what to do, but she was sure that the bed was the best place for him to be. So, doing the only thing that she could think of, Rachel tugged on his arm as she moved to get up.

"Come on Kurt, you'll feel better once you're in bed."

Finally, after a few more moments of sitting on the ground, Kurt slowly moved to try and stand. Rachel helped him to get on his feet, moving her free hand to hold his waist as he staggered slightly. Once she was sure he was alright, she moved her hand and guided Kurt back to his bed.

"Do you feel hungry? I can try and find something to cook for you if you are." She asked once of the two of them were in his room.

"No Rachel," he sighed out as he sunk into his pillows. Rachel moved to pull the covers over him but Kurt took them from her quickly, wrapping them around his form. "I appreciate it, but not right now."

"What about some medicine? You know that temperature you have - it felt pretty bad," She pushed, knowing that Kurt had to try to take some if he thought he could stomach it. Letting out a sigh Kurt nodded, and Rachel took it as a yes.

"I'll be right back with it," She said, before rushing off and leaving him for a moment.

Rachel searched through her belongings for the medicine she was looking for, frowning as she did so. As she did so, she began to really think about and understand the situation that she was currently faced with. Kurt really wasn't well at all, at leas he wasn't well enough that he could look after himself for the rest of the night. Even if he wouldn't admit it, he needed someone to look after him, to be by his side.

But Rachel realised that unfortunately, that couldn't be her.

She bit her lip as her hand found the small bottle of medicine she was looking for, but she didn't make any motion to move from where she was standing. She looked around the room as her mind continued to think about the whole situation. She could stay for the rest of the afternoon, but later that evening she would be out, busy trying to rehearse with Harmony. Rachel pulled a face as she thought about that, but she knew very well that it was not something she could afford to miss. It wasn't as if she was only going for her own pride (although, that certainly was part of it), but she knew that she needed the credit for what they were working on. And she couldn't simply just: not turn up. That would be unprofessional.

At the same time however, she couldn't just leave Kurt by himself. She'd feel terrible if she did, and Rachel knew that she would only worry about his wellbeing constantly. Kurt was one of her dearest friends, and he needed her right now. But if she did stay, Kurt would only continue to keep asking why she wasn't going to rehearsal.

Frowning, she moved to where her handbag was, searching through it quickly as she searched for her phone. An idea struck her, and she knew that it could possibly be one to solve all her current worries. There was only one person she could call and trust with looking after Kurt, and it was the only idea she could think of. Especially since she hardly trusted Jesse to look after _himself_ half the time, let alone someone else.

Once she found her phone, she quickly flicked through her contacts list to find the name she was searching for. Once she had found it, she took a look in the direction of the room where Kurt was, before clicking call and holding the phone up to her ear.

"Please pick up, please, please," Rachel chanted to herself. The phone continued to ring for a while, and her heart continued to beat quickly as she waited for something to happen. Just as she was about to give in and hang up, the phone clicked, indicating that the person on the other end had picked up.

_"Rachel?"_

"Oh Blaine thank god!" She let out a relieved breath she hadn't known she'd been holding in, holding her hand above her heart in an attempt to calm herself down.

_"Hi... Not that I don't appreciate the call, but err … I'm kind of at work right now. So whatever it is -"_

"Kurt's sick."

There was silence on the other end of the phone, and Rachel began to wonder if Blaine had already hung up and returned back to work until -

_"... What?"_

Sensing his sudden panic at her words Rachel continued on, explaining what had happened whilst trying to calm him somewhat at the same time.

"It's nothing too serious. Well, I don't think it is. He's just - I got home and he was sick, and I think he's been like this all morning. I'm really sorry Blaine, I wouldn't have called you till later on otherwise. But - I have a rehearsal later this evening and I'm sort of panicking here over what to do. I mean, I don't think he's in a fit state to be left alone but at the same time I can't just, _not_ turn up. So I did the only thing I could think of and that's calling you and -"

_"Okay okay Rachel calm down._" Came Blaine's voice from over the phone, still slightly panicked himself but Rachel could tell he was trying hard to push it aside and focus on the matter at hand. _"Your rehearsals not till later on is it?"_

"This evening," she repeated, nodding even though she knew Blaine couldn't see her.

_"Okay. Okay I'll … I'll be round as soon as I finish my shift. Just, look after him until then, please."_

"Of course," Rachel agreed. As if she was going to do anything different from that anyway, she was too concerned about Kurt herself to do anything else but watch over him. Lifting up the bottle of medicine she was still holding, she shook it slightly, and her eyes widened when she realised that it was nearly empty.

"Blaine, do you think - before you stop by - could you pick up some medicine for temperatures and fevers? The bottle we have is almost empty, and I think it'll be good to have some extra, just incase."

_"He has a fever?"_ Rachel heard Blaine ask over the phone. _"God, he's really not getting a break right now is he? Sure. Of course. I'll pick some up on my way back. Is there anything else? Any food or anything?"_

"Not that I can think of," Rachel replied, remembering how Kurt had only just stocked up their small fridge with supplies the day before. "He's not hungry at the moment, but if he gets hungry later I can just make him some soup or something."

_"If you're sure..."_ Blaine said, and Rachel was oblivious to the tone that was in his voice.

"Blaine, I'm sure. I'll send you a text if there's anything else."

_"Okay. Just, keep me in the loop if anything changes. And I mean _anything_ Rachel. Like even if he eats or if he's sick again or - just anything."_

Rachel felt herself smile sadly, noticing just how worried Blaine was about his boyfriend. It was silly, but she had always admired the way that both Kurt and Blaine looked out for one another.

"I will. You get back to work now, Blaine. I'll keep you updated."

They both said goodbye, and once the call ended Rachel placed her phone to the side once more. She let out a long sigh, before turning her attention to the bottle of medicine in her hand. She found herself thinking that it would probably be a good idea at some point to stock up on those sorts of things, just so that they never did run out of them if they ever needed them. Still, there were a few left in the bottle, and that was all that mattered at the moment. Hoping that it would help with how Kurt felt, Rachel made her way over to the small fridge, grabbing a bottle of water that was sitting there before making her way back to her friends room.

* * *

><p>Rachel found herself glancing down at her phone, reading the time that was printed on the screen.<p>

Blaine should have been here by now. His shift had ended, and the shops weren't that far away from where they were. And it's not like he had a lot to buy, she had only asked for medicine. Maybe that was what he was waiting for? Maybe there were lots of people stocking up on supplies for the Autumn, and Blaine was just caught up in a queue. Or Something. She hoped it was something as simple as that anyway, because poor Rachel couldn't help but feel anxious that he still hadn't turned up.

Biting her lip slightly, Rachel tried in vain to calm her nerves down. She needed to be at rehearsal, and soon, but she was going to wait until the last possible moment. Even if she just received a text letting her know where Blaine was right now, or that he was on his way it would be enough to ease her of her worries, but he hadn't responded to any of the texts she had sent him so far.

Maybe his phone's battery had simply died somewhere along the way.

Rachel let out a sigh, tearing her gaze away from her phone long enough to glance in the direction of the room where Kurt was. Thankfully, he was resting, and he hadn't left his bed since she had moved him there. But still, Rachel would only feel better knowing that someone was looking after him whilst she was out.

Just as she was about to give in and send yet another text to Blaine there was a soft knock at the door. Rachel hurried over to open it, and as soon as she did Blaine walked in, carrying a large and rather full paper bag in his hands. Rachel let out a breath she didn't know she holding, both relieved and thankful that he had finally appeared.

"Blaine! Oh thank goodness you're here."

Blaine turned around on his heel to stare at Rachel, watching as the girl quickly pulled on a coat that she had been holding in her haste.

"Sorry. I planned on getting here sooner, but the shops were really busy."

"It's okay! I'm glad you're here. I was beginning to wonder where you were; or if you'd received any of my messages. Honestly, I'd have no idea what I would do if -"

"How's Kurt?" Blaine interrupted, honestly not much caring to listen to the girls rant. Because after all, Kurt was the reason why he was currently standing in the small room in the first place after having literally rushed out of work as soon as his shift had ended to buy stuff at the nearest shops.

"Not good," Rachel grimaced. "He buried himself under the covers once I'd got him up off of the floor in the bathroom. And you're lucky he's even done that. When he realised that he'd missed classes today he was half determined to sit and work instead. And I mean really, with the state he's in?" She let out of a huff of annoyance, before her features changed into that of concern. "I'm worried Blaine. I don't want him to push himself too far - or to even really think about his work at all with how he is right now. I'd stay and look after him myself if I could, but I really do need to go to this rehearsal and -"

"Rachel," Blaine said softly, causing the girl to stop talking and turn to look at him. His eye's shined in understanding, and Rachel noticed the smallest smile on his face. "It's okay. Go to your rehearsal. I'll take over looking after Kurt from here."

Rachel smiled then, and she was sure that she had done the right thing in phoning Blaine during her moment of panic. She said a quick thank you and goodbye to him before grabbing her bag and rushing out of the door. Blaine stood and watched her for a second, shocked at just how quickly the girl could move, before sighing and moving to close the door shut.

Dumping the bag he had brought with him to one side for the time being, Blaine made his way to where Kurt was. And just as Rachel had said, he found him huddled deep beneath his sheets, hiding away from the outside world.

"Kurt?" He called out.

There was no reply, so Blaine moved to kneel down next to form of where his cocooned boyfriend lay in the bed.

"Kurt."

"Mmmmugh." Kurt groaned, shuffling slightly from under the covers.

Blaine watched him, worry falling over him. There was no way for Blaine to know exactly how Kurt was whilst he remained hidden underneath the covers. He knew that he was ill - he had pretty much had that established by the panicked voice of Rachel when she'd called -, but he really needed to actually _see_ his boyfriend to establish just how unwell he was for himself.

"Kurt, baby, do you think you're okay to try and eat something?"

_'Try anything'_, Blaine found himself thinking. If Blaine could get some food into Kurt, then that was at least something.

"I am _not_ eating Rachel's secret home made soup recipe," Came Kurt's sharp response, somewhat muffled by the covers over him. "I literally need to be on my deathbed before you can force feed me that terrible excuse for food, and even then I'll somehow still manage to refuse."

Blaine found himself letting out a small laugh at that. Okay. So Kurt had perked up enough that he could make jokes, and he hadn't dismissed food completely. That was a good sign.

"You don't have to baby, I promise. I even went out and got the stuff to make you your favorite leak and chicken soup for you."

There was a pause, and Blaine half wondered if Kurt had fallen asleep again or if he was just choosing to ignore him when -

"Did you get the croutons too?"

"And the croutons."

Finally, Kurt poked his head from the covers ever so slightly, and Blaine could finally see and understand for himself why Rachel had been so worried. Kurt looked positively exhausted. And Blaine knew that all the extra effort and energy he had been putting into his school work - along with dealing with Rachel's day to day dramas on top of that - was not helping him at all.

"I guess - I could go for some food."

"How long ago has it been since you last ate?" Blaine asked, pressing his head to Kurt's forehead lightly to check his temperature. Kurt frowned in thought for a moment before finally settling for an answer.

"Breakfast this morning. But then even that wasn't much before I felt sick."

Blaine pulled his hand away quickly at that, frowning at the other boy.

"Kurt -" He began, his voice cautious before Kurt interrupted him.

"I know Blaine. I know what you're thinking. I just - I didn't feel like eating. I couldn't eat all day. All I've wanted to do is curl up here and sleep, so I took the morning off from classes. But I couldn't even _do_ that."

Blaine let out a sigh, before returning to stroking his hand through Kurt's hair.

"Don't skip meals like that Kurt. Even if you feel bad, just try to eat something. Even if it's small. Sometimes it might be enough to just make you feel a little better. And even if you are sick afterwards, it doesn't matter because you've tried." He pressed his hand to his forehead again, frowning slightly. "Plus, you're kind of warm still. Did Rachel give you those tablets like she said she would?"

Kurt nodded, and Blaine continued.

"Okay, then we'll just hope they work. We'll keep an eye on your temperature tonight, just to make sure it doesn't get any worse. Do you feel hot? Or cold, even?"

"Blaine, I feel fine body temperature wise. Toasty in fact now I'm finally in bed." Kurt mumbled, pushing his face back into his pillow.

Defeated, Blaine let out a sigh before nodding, moving his hand to rub Kurt's back.

"Okay. Well, if you're sure you're alright I'll go and make you some soup then. You just stay here and shout if you need me." He made his way to stand on his feet, removing his hand and watching as Kurt bundled himself up into his sheets once more.

"As if I feel like walking anywhere," Blaine heard Kurt mumble as he burrowed back down onto the pillows. Blaine just rolled his eyes, allowing himself a small smile before he made his way to the small kitchen area.

Blaine knew that Kurt was likely to go back to resting for a while. He could see it in the way he had snuggled back into comfort, could hear it in the sound of his voice, and Blaine knew that was the best thing for him. He wasn't going to leave him alone that night, not even if Kurt argued against it.

He walked over to where he had previously dumped the bag he had brought with him and picked it up once more, carrying it with him as he walked towards the tiny kitchen area. As he did so, Blaine felt his phone vibrate from where it sat in his pocket. Letting out a sigh, he placed the bag down on the counter, pulling out the phone before pressing a button and pushing it to his ear.

"Hello?"

_"Blaaaaaaaaine."_

Blaine let out another long sigh at the sound of the whine that leaked through the phone. Knowing all too well that the conversation wasn't going to be anything too serious, Blaine returned his attention back to pulling the items he had brought out of the bag, moving the phone to balance on his shoulder as he replied.

"What is it Jesse?"

_"Dude where are you? You said this morning that you would be back at the dorm after work and that you'd help me out. And man, do I _really_ need you're help. Working with my partner earlier for our class assessment was exhausting - and now I have to go through this stupid scene a million times over before I see them again tomorrow!"_

"Wait. Wasn't the point of you working with your partner so that you_ didn't_ have to go through the scene anymore tonight?" Blaine found himself asking, frowning as he looked around for a saucepan.

_"Yeah it was … but apparently I 'wasn't taking the rehearsal seriously enough'. I mean what the hell? It's not even like it's worth any credit or anything."_

"I - kind of think there is credit to be earned Jesse." He replied, remembering how it was only the day before that Rachel herself had been weighing up reasons to go to her own rehearsal with Harmony or not. Blaine distinctly recalled something about credit making it's way onto the top of the 'pros' list at least.

_"See, this is why I need your help,"_ There was a pause, and Blaine was sure he could hear Jesse sigh heavily on the other end of the phone. _"When are you coming back today anyway?"_

"I'm not," Blaine simple said, moving to prepare some of the ingredients that he had brought. "I'm staying at Kurt and Rachel's tonight."

_"Oh I see how it is"_ Jesse's voice called out playfully through the phone. _"You and Kurt planning to get lucky whilst Rachel's out for the evening?"_

"It's really not like that."

_"Suuuuuure it's not."_

"Jesse it is _not_." Blaine snapped, getting slightly annoyed at Jesse continuing to push the point. He paused what he was doing, turning his head to make sure that he hadn't raised his voice too much to disturb Kurt from the other room. Noticing the still silence of the dorm, Blaine moved to grab the phone, pulling it closer to his ear as he spoke quietly into it. "Kurt's not feeling well okay?"

_"... Wait what?"_

"Rachel phoned me earlier when I was at work to tell me he was sick," Blaine continued, shoving the phone back near his shoulder from where it was slipping away as he returned his main attention to preparing Kurt's soup. "She was worried that no one would be around to look after him as she was going out, so she called. I'm staying the night to make sure he's alright. Or - at least until Rachel returns and decides to kick me out. Whichever one happens first."

_"That sucks man. I didn't know -"_

"I know," Blaine said, realising that no one had told Jesse of the situation at hand. His shoulders slumped slightly, guilt sinking into him at the thought. "I'm sorry Jesse, really. But I just won't be able to help you out like I promised."

_"No that's cool. I understand. Just - look out for Kurt. I bet he's being as stubborn as anything right now."_

"Well, I only just got here a little while ago so I have all of that to look forward to when he's feeling a little better. He's pretty exhausted at the moment," Blaine looked around at how far he was with the soup. "Look Jesse, I've gotta go. I'm literally just down the corridor if you manage to blow up the room."

_"I resent that!"_ Jesse shouted back.

Blaine clicked off the phone after saying goodbye, putting it down on to the counter. He rubbed at his face tiredly, somewhat feeling slightly exhausted himself after ending his conversation with Jesse. Sometimes, he just really couldn't understand his friend, but at least Jesse was understanding about things at the very least. And at least now that the call was over, Blaine wouldn't have to worry about him phoning every five minutes throughout the night wondering where he had disappeared to or weather or not he'd been abducted by aliens.

Jesse would be just fine by himself. He'd get the dorm to himself for the night, he'd be more than alright.

* * *

><p>"Kurt."<p>

Kurt frowned at the sound of his name being called. No. He didn't want to get out of bed. He wanted to just stay exactly where he was. To stay buried under the covers and not have to go out anywhere. To not have to put up with anything because he seriously was not in the mood.

Keeping his eyes tightly shut, he decided to try and feign sleep. Although … was it really trying when he still felt absolutely exhausted?

As he did so, he felt the bed dip slightly as someone sat beside him. He frowned, bringing his knees up closer to himself to curl into a small ball.

"Kurt, come on. I know you're not asleep." Came the voice of the person next to him. There was a pause, and Kurt just clenched his eyes closed even tighter.

"I brought you some soup."

His eyes shot open then, and suddenly everything became clear to him. Blaine was here. Blaine was the one that was currently taking care of him, who was sitting next to him. It was Blaine who had told him only a short while ago to try and eat something. And he had said that he would, because aside from being terribly tired, Kurt couldn't ignore the way his stomach ached in need of food.

Shifting slightly from his position he turned around, meeting Blaine's smiling face as he did so.

"Careful. I don't wanna spill this."

Turning his gaze slightly, Kurt noticed the tray that Blaine was holding. And sure enough, there was the soup that Blaine had promised: croutons and all. Kurt felt himself smile ever so slightly, and he moved to sit up ever so carefully.

As Blaine moved to place the tray on Kurt's lap, careful not to spill it and to make sure Kurt was still somewhat comfortable, Kurt noticed that there was something else rather unusual sitting upon the tray. He poked the other object that was staring back at him before picking it up, frowning at it in his curiosity. His frown disappeared quickly however as he realised just what it was, and he felt his smile return - growing somewhat.

"Blaine what is this?" He asked, trying hard to hide some of the amusement that was leaking it's way into his voice.

"Isn't it obvious?" Blaine asked him, looking back at Kurt innocently, the hint of a smile trying hard to break free.

"It's a puppy." Kurt said simply, turning it in his hand as he looked at it. And sure enough, that was exactly what it was. Well, sort of. It was a toy puppy, but one that Kurt couldn't help but admit was rather cute all the same.

He laughed suddenly however as he looked at the tag that was attached to the small toy.

"Oh my god is this … Snowy from Tintin?" Kurt asked, turning to look at Blaine who was wearing an amused look on his face.

"It sure is," He replied, moving to sit a little bit more comfortably on the bed. "It was cute, so I brought it for you."

Kurt's attention fell back onto the small toy dog, and he couldn't help the happiness he felt when he looked at it. He stroked the soft fabric of it, before rolling his eyes and speaking again.

"I had no idea they even were still making these toys, let alone for movies and stuff," Kurt moved to place the toy next to him in the bed. He turned back to the soup that was sitting in front of him, letting out a small sigh of relief as he realised that he had escaped having to eat Rachel's disastrous explanation for food.

"I guess they just never stopped making the toys," Blaine shrugged, watching Kurt as he began to eat. "I just thought it was cute because it was a dog."

"Not just _any_ dog. Snowy." corrected Kurt.

"Right," Blaine nodded, breathing out a small laugh at Kurt's insistence.

He continued to watch Kurt quietly for a few moments, making sure that he ate something. Kurt on the otherhand, although tired, seemed happy enough to be eating as much as he could. Which Blaine took as good news, because Kurt wasn't even complaining about his cooking for once like he usually would. Unless that meant that his cooking had improved somewhat, but Blaine wasn't exactly holding out hope for that to be the answer. Instead he just assumed that Kurt was too hungry to care.

"You know …" Blaine began, deciding that sitting quietly was actually quiet boring, and that he'd actually like to talk to Kurt a bit before the other drifted off to sleep later like he knew he would. "When we finally work on moving in together … we could always get a dog ourselves."

The smile that appeared on Kurt's sleepy and tired face made Blaine's heart ache somewhat, and Blaine found that he had to hold his tongue so as not to tell Kurt just how utterly adorable he looked right then. He was just like a child, and the way he had brightened up at Blaine's words was reminiscent to that of a happy child at Christmastime when they had finally run downstairs to find their presents sitting beneath the tree.

"Really?" Kurt asked, his eye's lighting up slightly as he did so.

"Sure. I mean, we talked about it before. Why not?"

"... Can I pick the breed?"

"Only if it's a suitable one," Blaine warned. The slight shine that had appeared in Kurt's eye's fell somewhat, and Blaine noticed how Kurt frowned slightly.

"Blaine, an Akita puppy is more than suitable. They're loyal, and -"

"Kurt, no," Blaine interrupted, shaking his head as he did so. "As cute as those dogs are, they get bored very easily. And they shed their fur like there's no tomorrow."

"I have no problem with that," Kurt mumbled, stirring the spoon he was holding in his soup as he did so.

"Somehow, I don't believe you'd still be saying that when they eventually find your clothes."

"Then I'd make sure that they wouldn't find them. It's not like I leave my clothes on the ground."

"I think that no matter how organized you kept them or how well you hide them, the dog would still be smart enough to have it's way with a scarf or two of yours."

"No it wouldn't. We could buy it all those little dog toys so that it couldn't possibly get bored or want anything to do with my scarves."

Blaine just sighed, feeling himself trying to suppress laughter as he did so.

"We can talk about it nearer the time," He simply stated, knowing that if they had this debate now he would very easily lose, especially with the state that Kurt was currently in. Blaine had a hard time with denying Kurt anything when he was well, and it was even worse to deny him of the things he wanted when he was unwell. He had learnt that from the last time he had found himself looking after him when he was sick.

Shifting over slightly, Blaine placed the faintest of kisses upon Kurt's forehead, noticing that his poor boyfriend was still somewhat feverish.

"And that doesn't mean that because this discussion is currently put on hold that it's an excuse for you to convince me to watch that movie you've found about that Akita dog."

"Aww," Kurt said, pushing his tray away from him slightly as he did so. "But the reviews online said it was really good."

"Yes, and you said the same about Marley and Me, and I still cry whenever I just think about the ending," Blaine replied, leaning back to sit up in his original position again. He looked down at the tray, noticing that Kurt had finished with it. There was still food left in the bowl, yet Blaine didn't have the heart to say anything. He was happy enough just to get Kurt to eat something at the very least.

Blaine moved to grab the tray and lay it down at the side of Kurt's bed, and as he did so Kurt shuffled back beneath the covers to get comfortable once again. Turning his attention back to his sick boyfriend, Blaine pulled up the covers so that they were just below Kurt's chin, before moving his hand to push Kurt's hair out of the way of his forehead.

"How are you feeling now?" He asked, his voice coming out quiet and soothing. Kurt turned his gaze to Blaine, smiling sleepily.

"Better, now I've eaten."

"See? What did I tell you. Food will do wonders."

"Oh shush," The younger boy replied, closing his eyes and shuffling further down into the bed. There was a pause, and Kurt turned back in Blaine's direction, opening his eyes to look at his dark haired boyfriend. "If I feel better in the morning, do you think I can go back to classes?"

Blaine's eye's went wide at that. Was Kurt … being serious with his question?

"Baby, no," Blaine replied, frowning slightly at what he had just been asked. He wached Kurt's eye's widen slightly, and Blaine simply wrapped his free arm around him. "You're not going back to classes for the rest of this week. And don't -" He began, as he sensed Kurt was about to protest "fight about it. Today is Wednesday. Tomorrow, I can talk to your teacher and get you whatever work you've missed - if any. And Friday you don't even have lessons, so we won't have to worry about that."

"What about work?" Kurt mumbled, his voice somewhat defeated. Blaine kissed his hair, bringing Kurt closer too him slightly, but keeping careful not to suffocate him with affection.

"If you feel better, then on Saturday you can go to work as you normally would do. But you _have_ to tell either myself or Rachel if you still feel unwell." Blaine fell silent for a moment, hearing Kurt let out a small sound of protest. "Don't do that. It's only a few days. And you're ahead on your work anyway, so I doubt you'll even have to worry about catching up. We just don't want you jumping into things if you still feel poorly."

"But Blaine -"

"No Kurt," Blaine interrupted, adamant to get Kurt to understand what it was he was trying to say. "Take a few days to recover. You'll feel better then."

"... Fine," Kurt sighed out, realising that there was no fighting with Blaine on the matter once his decision had been made. Instead, he closed his eyes, burrowing himself slightly in his boyfriends warm embrace. Blaine continued to stroke his hand through Kurt's hair, knowing that it was helping to sooth the boy somewhat.

"Thank you," Blaine replied, his voice soothing once again as he realised Kurt was much too tired to argue any further with him. He was slightly grateful, as he knew that had it been otherwise, Kurt would have likely fought tooth and nail to get back to his college work as quickly as possible. Blaine just didn't want him to jump into things too quickly when there was the possibility that he still didn't feel a hundred percent. And he knew that if he really thought about, Kurt would appreciate the decision too, knowing that he'd prefer to be in top health to focus on what was important to him.

"How about this," He murmured, causing Kurt to freeze and listen to him. "I go and put the tray away in the kitchen and get you another drink as well some of that medicine for later on incase you feel you need it. Then, when I get back we put on a movie and snuggle. Sound like a good idea to you?"

"Mmmm." Kurt nodded in agreement.

"Okay then."

Blaine slipped away from Kurt, moving to sit up so he could pick up the tray from the floor. He hurried off to place it on a counter in the small kitchen area - Rachel wouldn't mind him leaving it there when she eventually got back - and moved to get some fresh water from out of the fridge for Kurt. Once he was done, he picked up the medicine that had been left out, a precaution incase Kurt felt any worse throughout the night, before moving to find a dvd. He knew exactly what film it would be that they would both watch, knowing very well that Kurt would most likely fall asleep not long after it was on.

Once he had everything he needed, he slipped into Kurt's room once more. As he did he found Kurt curled up with his covers keeping him warm, his sleepy attention drawn the dog plushie he had brought him earlier. Blaine moved swiftly over to put the drink and medicine on Kurt's bedside table, before disappearing to set up the small television that was in the room. It didn't take long for him to get everything prepared, and after finding the remote that was hidden next to the television, Blaine moved to where Kurt was lying in the bed, aware that he was watching him.

"What are we watching?" He heard Kurt ask as he pulled some of the covers away so that he could slip into the small bed beside him. Blaine couldn't help the smile that made his way upon his face, and he wrapped his arms around his boyfriends small frame as he pulled him closer towards him.

"Something that I know you love and will make you feel a bit better," He replied, before pressing the button on the remote that would let the movie play. As soon as Kurt recognised what the film was he smiled, before burying down into Blaine's warmth once more.

"Wizard of Oz," Kurt simply said, his happiness and approval at the choice in the movie evident in his voice.

The both of them remained quiet after that, too engrossed in the movie and the small little bubble they had created for themselves to want to break it. Blaine's hand soon found itself stroking Kurt's hair once more, his other one rubbing circles across his back. Like he had thought, it didn't take long until he felt Kurt fall heavy beside him, and Blaine knew that it was a sign that he had finally fallen asleep. Blaine was aware that Kurt had pretty much been on the brink of sleep ever since he had arrived earlier, and that he most likely felt tired throughout the majority of the day. But now, now he could finally get the sleep that he both wanted and needed, whilst being wrapped up securely in his boyfriends arms.

Blaine turned his head as he watched the younger boy sitting next to him sleep, the hint of a smile making it's way upon his face as he did so. He hoped so much that Kurt would feel better the next day, already missing his boyfriends usual sarcastic but loveable behaviour.

"Goodnight Kurt," He whispered, pressing a faint kiss to his hair before leaning against it. Blaine's eye's drifted back to television, watching as the munchkins on the screen sang the way to the Emerald city to Dorothy. Blaine's own eyes were feeling heavy though, the hectic day he had beginning to catch up with him. It didn't take long afterwards until he had drifted off to sleep along with Kurt.

* * *

><p>Rachel was almost fuming when she finally returned. The whole rehearsal to her was just a useless waste of time, especially seeing as Harmony had appeared to not even want to consider any of the advice she had to provide.<p>

As soon as she was in the dorm she flicked the light on in the room, moving instantly to go and make herself a hot drink. As she did so she noticed the tray of food that Blaine had left earlier, and she blinked as she looked at it. Shaking her head, she flicked the switch to the coffee machine on, deciding that she'd sort out the tray a bit later on.

As she waited for the coffee to brew, Rachel made her way to Kurt's room, looking to find Blaine and ask him how Kurt was. She noticed that the door was slightly open, and inside the sound of a television playing could be heard. Pushing the door open slowly, Rachel peaked her head around the door, and when she did the annoyance she was feeling previously disappeared, and she found that she couldn't help the grin that had quickly appeared on her face.

There, lying in the bed was Kurt, sound asleep and looking content and comfortable in the way he was nestled against Blaine. And right beside him was Blaine, arms wrapped around Kurt almost protectively. His head was resting on top of Kurt's, and his closed eyes were a sure sign that he was dead to the world as well. Rachel's heart soared looking at the two wrapped up in each other, and she couldn't help but admire just how adorable they both looked sleeping next to one another.

_'The broom! May we have it?'_

_'Please! And take it with you!'_

"Aww the witch melted already," Rachel found herself saying, turning her head slightly as she noticed what movie was playing on the small television.

She continued to watch the scene for a little while longer, telling herself that she was only waiting until she could finish preparing her coffee. She became so absorbed in the film that she didn't even hear or acknowledge the soft sound of shifting from the bed, and was unaware that anyone was awake until a voice broke her attention.

"Rachel?"

At the sound of the sleepy voice she turned, noticing Blaine blinking sleepily before turning to look at her.

"Hi," she said, before nodding back towards the television. "If I had known you two were going to be watching this, I would have rethought going to rehearsal tonight at all."

"How'd it go?" Blaine asked, his arm falling back around Kurt's sleeping form as he did so. Rachel watched him for a moment, before frowning slightly as she realised what Blaine had asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it right now," Came her reply, and Blaine's eyebrows shot up in surprise. The act didn't go unnoticed to Rachel, and she sent a small smile to Blaine. "Maybe later. How's he been?"

She nodded towards where Kurt was, and Blaine turned to look at him.

"He's been alright. I don't think there's any hope of him waking up for the rest of the night though, he was completely exhausted," Blaine smiled, before shifting slightly to check his boyfriends temperature once more. It had gone down somewhat which he was thankful for, but Blaine felt that Kurt was still too warm.

"I brought some of that medicine you were nearly out of," Blaine continued, his attention drifting back to Rachel. "He's still kind of warm, so if it's still like that tomorrow - make sure he takes some. Just to keep it down till he's feeling better."

Rachel nodded, before hearing the soft clicking sound from the kitchen. She turned her head in the direction of where the coffee machine was in the other room, before turning back to look at Blaine.

"Do you want some coffee or anything?"

"Coffee would be great. Please," Blaine replied, a large, sleepy smile appearing on his face at the offer. He moved to sit up before stopping, realising how hard the task was with his sleeping boyfriend currently clinging to him. He looked down at Kurt, before turning to look back up at Rachel. "I can't get up though, and I really don't want to wake him..."

"You can stay there," Rachel felt herself laugh slightly at Blaine's dilemma. "It might even be better if you stay the night with him, actually. I mean, I don't mind, and Kurt really doesn't seem to mind. But first: coffee. And then I suppose I should phone Jesse to make sure he's okay and understands that you haven't abandoned him."

"Nice try, but he's already pestered me over the phone earlier," Blaine replied.

He watched as Rachel rolled her eyes and sighed, before leaving the room to go and get the coffee she felt she had been waiting for for so long. Once she had left, Blaine turned back to look at where his sleeping boyfriend lay next to him. He knew that it was a good thing that Rachel was okay with him staying that night, for all of them. Had he tried to move now he would only wake Kurt, and that was something Blaine really didn't want to do. He didn't really want to leave either; knowing that if he did so he would only be awake all night worrying about him and driving Jesse insane in the process. And he also knew that although she hadn't directly said so herself, Rachel would feel somewhat better having someone else around to help her look after Kurt.

Rachel soon reappeared in the room, carrying two cups of coffee and causing Blaine to turn his attention away from Kurt to smile back at her. As he said a quick thank you and took the cup she offered in his direction away from her, Rachel knelt down on the ground, careful not to spill her own coffee in the process.

"He's completely dead to the world, isn't he?" She asked, nodding in the direction of Kurt again.

"Yeah," Came Blaine's reply, his attention focused on trying not to burn his hands on the coffee he had been handed. At least it was hot, which something he was thankful for. Once he was settled, he continued. "He's never been great at taking care of himself when he's sick though. Taking care of everyone else, yes. Himself? Useless."

"That's because he's one of those people who get sick rarely, and usually try to carry on as normal and hope it just passes," Rachel paused, taking a sip from her coffee as she did so. "It was why I was so worried when I found him earlier."

"A few days off to focus on himself and he'll be fine," Blaine said, turning to look back to Kurt as he did so. He knew that was all Kurt needed. A part of him was sure that he'd most likely be better the next day actually, but Blaine still knew that taking some time to make sure he was completely back to normal health wouldn't hurt him in anyway.

"It's just getting him to understand that," Rachel agreed. "Earlier on he was worrying about his college work."

"Yeah, he was worrying about that with me as well. Honestly though, he'll be fine, and he knows that. I eventually got him to see sense though, but I think he mostly agreed just because he was too tired to argue."

Rachel nodded, and the two of them sat back into comfortable silence once more, every so often glancing back to the television where the end of the movie was playing in the background.

"So, do you want to talk about what happened at rehearsal later or -" Blaine asked eventually, knowing that Rachel was going to want to talk about it at some point, and that he might as well get her rant over and done with while they were already talking.

Rachel let out a small groan, placing her half empty coffee cup to the side as she moved to sit more comfortably.

"Overall it went well. Really well. But it was just so aggravating as well. The things that I pointed out that she should work upon, Harmony completely ignored and said that I was pretty much just splitting hairs. And I was trying so hard to be nice, giving her my expert advice, but she didn't take _any_ of my tips onboard. I mean yes I get she's talented, but there is always room for improvement even if it's the slightest amount, and is it so wrong if I just want to strive for perfection?"

And as soon as she began it was as if Blaine had opened up the lock on a box that wasn't meant to be opened. Rachel just continued to discuss all the things that had happened (which Blaine found were more or less just little annoyances on her part and really nothing she should be letting herself get so upset over, but there was no way he was going to say that to her out loud). And as she continued to talk, Blaine began to wonder why he had even really asked in the first place. Because if he was honest, even with the coffee she had made, he was much too tired himself to try and make sense of the whole predicament.

* * *

><p>"I just can't understand why you have to be here though. I mean, it's not like I'm about to rush out to the gym and exercise till I kill myself."<p>

It was Thursday, and Kurt was wide awake and sitting up in his bed with Jesse sitting cross legged upon the floor. After having slept all night (and most of the morning too) he already found himself feeling much better compared to what he had felt like the day before. In fact, Kurt was sure that he was well enough to actually _do_ something more than just sit in bed all day. However, much to both Rachel and Blaine's insistence: he wasn't allowed to. Not that Kurt could understand why exactly, but it was an argument that he hadn't won.

So, as Rachel had left to do some work in the library, and Blaine had his own classes to attend for the morning, they had settled to doing the one thing that the both of them could think of to make sure Kurt didn't decide to leave his bed. And that was calling Jesse to look after him.

Jesse didn't mind, in fact he was quite happy with the decision actually. He liked having someone to talk to (even though his attention was drawn more to his ipod then to Kurt). And now that Kurt wasn't at risk of throwing up at any given moment, Jesse was more than happy to make sure he stayed in bed.

"You know why I'm here Kurt," Jesse replied, his attention currently drawn to playing fruit ninja. "I'm here to be awesome and look after you. That and talking to you is _so_ much better than doing any of the homework that I have left to do."

Kurt groaned, before rolling his eyes at the response.

"I don't need you babysitting me."

"It's not babysitting. It's hanging out."

"Well, I don't need you hanging out with me then."

"Yes you do. Because you think my company is delightful."

Kurt raised an eyebrow then, turning to look at Jesse in confusion.

"Delightful is somewhat pushing it, don't you think? You're somewhat bearable in small doses, but that's about it."

"Well, I'm glad you feel that way. You are also somewhat bearable in small doses. We're even."

Kurt continued to watch his friend, noticing how Jesse didn't even seem offended at the statement. Letting out a sigh, he pulled his legs up close to his chest, letting his chin fall on top of where his knees were under the covers.

"I just want to get out of this room. I'm so bored of being cooped up inside now. I had to do that for a whole day yesterday." He turned to look back at Jesse, noticing that his attention hadn't changed for a moment. "Can't I even walk around the campus for a little bit?"

"Blaine said no," Jesse simply replied. "Not until your temperature had completely gone. He also happened to mention that if i turned a blind eye and let you sneak out, he'd make sure to blame me for it in someway if something happened. And I want to continue living Kurt."

"My temperature isn't even _that_ bad anymore," Kurt mumbled.

There was a few moments of silence, until Jesse finally finished his game (or failed. Most likely, he had failed it). He let out a long sigh, before turning to finally look at Kurt.

"Look. I get that this sucks, and that you just want to get back to your normal life as soon as possible, but you can't do that right now. I've had my orders. And anyway, it would really suck if you just got sick again."

"It was a twenty four hour bug! It happens -"

"Still doesn't mean it can't happen again sooner if you move too fast and do too much at once," Jesse interrupted. He noticed Kurt's defeated expression then, and watched as the other boy set his chin on his knees again, his brow knitted together in frustration.

"Fine. I'll sit here and do nothing."

"You don't have to do _nothing_," Jesse replied. "Doing nothing really _is_ boring. You can do other stuff. Like, watch a movie or - read those fashion magazines you love so much."

Jesse paused for a moment, and he continued to watch Kurt. He was somewhat waiting for him to perk up and realise he didn't have to sit and sulk about the current situation he was trapped in, and that it wasn't the end of the world. Kurt didn't perk up however. In fact he didn't move from his position at all, and Jesse shrugged.

"Fine, please yourself. Sit and sulk then. I don't know why you are though, I mean it's just one day. And it might not even be that long. Remember what Blaine told you earlier? If you feel better later then he said he'd take you out, even if it was just for a walk in the park or something." He paused, realising that Kurt's attention sparked at what he had said. Figures, Jesse thought to himself, of course Kurt would perk up at the possibility of going out with Blaine.

"But y'know, I could just tell him you've been sulking all day and that you don't deserve that. I'm sure he'd be content on working on some college work or something instead."

"Okay. Jesse, stop. Stop treating me like a child."

"You're the youngest out of all of us, therefore you are the baby of the group." Jesse replied, happy to have struck on Kurt's nerve somewhat.

"And yet, you're the one who _act's_ like the five year old," Kurt shot back, glaring in Jesse's direction. "Now help me up so I can find my Vouge magazines. I think my legs have turned to jelly after being in bed for so long."

"Oh, so now you _want_ my help?" Jesse said. He didn't have much of a choice however, and before he knew it he found himself helping Kurt to his feet, making sure that he was okay to stand by himself.

"I don't _want_ it, I just don't particularly want to fall because my legs are currently still asleep."

Once Jesse was sure that Kurt was fine to stand by himself he moved away, picking up his ipod again and scrolling through the songs he had.

"I don't know why you're so bothered about this whole thing," He spoke as Kurt began to search through his collection for the latest magazines he had brought. "I mean, it's only one day. By Saturday you'll be back at work with those models of yours."

"_Mannequins_, Jesse. I work with mannequins, not models. I put clothes on mannequins and style them for the window display. Honestly how many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Mannequins, models, what's the difference?" Jesse shrugged again, watching Kurt out of the corner of his eye as the other boy sat back down on the bed with a handful of magazines. Kurt turned to look at him, a scowl evident across his features.

"A lot. But I'm not explaining them all to you," He flicked open the book that was on top of the small pile, turning his attention to the glossy pages in front of him.

The two of them sat in silence for a little while, Kurt content to look through the various clothes that were spread across the pages in his magazines whilst Jesse listened to music as he continued to play games. It wasn't long until he got bored with that though. Sighing, he looked around the room, his attention falling onto the television in the corner. Jesse hesitated for a moment, contemplating if he should walk over and switch it on or not. However, he knew that Kurt probably wouldn't be happy if he did so, especially if he didn't even bother to ask beforehand. That, and Jesse was sure Kurt was one of those types of people who actually preferred to read in peace and quiet, having those small moments of solitude to ones self.

What was so great about those magazines anyway? Not that he really cared, but Jesse couldn't ignore that he had a slight curiosity about it all. He just wanted to know what made them so amazing. Even Blaine had a few hidden away in the dorm they shared together, so there must have been some sort of appeal in them.

Yanking his earphones out of his ear, he moved from where he was sitting, just enough that he could peer over Kurt's shoulder to try and understand what the big deal was about Vouge.

"Oh okay wow. I see that high-end fashion is both ugly and expensive." He said, his eye's going wide at what he saw.

"_Excuse me?_" Kurt turned his head around to stare back at Jesse, his expression wide in disbelief as if Jesse had offended him in some way. In a way Jesse supposed he had, even if he hadn't meant to. But really, he was only speaking the truth.

"I'm just saying! Look at that," He pointed to a coat that was currently staring back at them on the page. "You can't honestly tell me that you want that?"

"It's not that bad," Kurt replied, tilting his head as he looked at the coat in question. "It could work well, providing you wore it with the right colors. And as for your comment about pricing - you can't put a price tag on fashion Jesse."

"Well, clearly, you can. And that price is about $4,000. Seriously?"

"You _would_ pick the most expensive thing on the page to criticise," Kurt rolled his eyes, turning the page in an attempt to try and end the current debate that they were having.

Jesse was about to say something in response, but was interrupted by the sound of his phone. He pulled it out from where it sat in his pocket and looked at the screen, noticing that he had received a message. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he read through it, before eventually turning back to look at Kurt.

"Kurt, come here."

"Why?" Kurt asked, turning to look at Jesse as he frowned in confusion.

"Because I said so."

Cautious, Kurt shifted over so that he was sitting directly in front of Jesse. Jesse noticed the look of bewilderment on his face, and suppressed a sigh. Honestly, what did Kurt think he was going to do?

He pushed his hand against Kurt's forehead - much to the other boys annoyance -, and tried to tell if his temperature from before was still there or not. When they had checked it that morning it was still lingering somewhat, but all of them expected that with the medicine, it would probably disappear by lunchtime. Which it now was.

Not noticing anything alarming himself Jesse turned his attention to Kurt, suddenly growing serious as he spoke to him.

"Do you feel warm?"

Jesse watched as Kurt rolled his eyes once more, before slumping his shoulders as understanding dawned across his features.

"No. I feel fine. Not hot, not cold. Just normal."

He watched Kurt for a moment longer, trying to determine if Kurt were lying or not. As far as he could tell though, Kurt was being completely honest. And he didn't feel like he had a temperature like the one he had earlier that morning.

Giving in, Jesse sat back, turning back to his phone to type back a response.

"Go get dressed. Blaine just messaged me to say that if you were feeling okay, he'd stop by on his way back to the dorms to take you out for lunch."

The instantaneous way in which Kurt's face lit up with happiness did not go unmissed, and Jesse watched in amusement as Kurt all but leapt from the bed, rushing off to find something to wear. Jesse raised an eyebrow and tried hard not to laugh at Kurt's enthusiasm. He couldn't blame him however. The poor guy had been stuck in his dorm since the day before, and it was obvious to anyone that Kurt just wanted to escape.

"And he said to wrap up warm!" Jesse shouted back to Kurt, before mumbling. "None of us want to babysit you again for a while."

* * *

><p>Oh my gosh. Longest chapter to date.<p>

Honestly, this thing just evolved on it's own. And it got very difficult to find a place to stop where it would flow. But we got there in the end.  
>This chapter actually started off much smaller, a little drabble in my notebook. But I ended up liking it more than I thought I would, and seeing as I'm adding a few more chapters in till we get to a heavy bulk that I've had written for months once again, I decided to put it in. This mini sickness arc is over by the way, just the one chapter. When you see Kurt again, he'll be back to his usual self. However, his attempt to persuade Blaine about the dog issue is far from over ...<p>

I'm not even going to pretend that I didn't search through my own Vouge for help on Jesse's argument on price tags. He just doesn't seem to understand why some fashion has such a high price attached to it. But then again if I'm completely honest, neither do I. Doesn't make them any less prettier to look at though. Also, I have checked through this for mistakes and errors, but I may have missed things. I do apologize, if I notice anything a bit later I'll go back and edit it when I find the time to do so.

Next chapter: Jesse finds himself caught in a slight dilemma, whilst Rachel ends up facing a rather important discussion with Kurt about Finn.


	10. Chapter 8

"What about Thursday night?"

Blaine frowned at the question, pausing for a second before following after Kurt to pick up some cutlery.

"No," He sighed out, shaking his head as he did so. "I have a study group in the evening."

Kurt shared a look with him out of the corner of his eye before picking up the food he had brought earlier, lying his own knife and fork onto the tray.

"Is this one actually going to result in you studying this time, or will you continue to complain about how much Chinese food you end up eating yet again?"

"We did actually get some studying done then. It wasn't all about the food."

Kurt nodded at his words, smiling slightly in a knowing way before he began to walk off in the direction of the table that they usually sat at. Blaine pulled a face at Kurt's actions, knowing all to well that he was only really humouring him, before followed after.

Once they reached the table Blaine sat in the seat across from Kurt, leaving the ones beside each of them vacant for whenever Jesse and Rachel decided to eventually join them. He lay his own tray down on the table, and wasted no time in beginning to dig into his meal, thankful that he finally was able to have the chance to eat and relax after a long day of working on essays and assignments.

"Either way," Kurt continued on, deciding to pick up where they had left the conversation beforehand. "Thursday is a no?"

"Thursday is a no." Blaine repeated. "But I'm free Friday evening instead."

He watched as Kurt let out a sigh, watching as he began to idly play with his own food.

"Friday's a no too I'm afraid," He answered, the sincerity of his regret at having to say those words evident in his voice. "I've been called in to work that evening. Something about needing the new display to go up before Saturday morning. Thankfully they allowed me to swop my usual Saturday for it as they were so desperate."

"Oh," Blaine frowned. It was the first time he had ever heard of Kurt having to work then, and he wasn't sure how he felt about having only just discovered that piece of news. "And on Saturday -"

"- you'll be busy at work yourself whilst I will be catching up on the sleep I've missed before spending long hours slaving over my project once again."

"This is insane," Blaine answered as he let out a loud sigh and rubbed his hand over his eyes. "I knew we were going to be busy, but I didn't think it would be like _this_."

"Trust me, I know what you mean." Kurt replied, glancing to look at Blaine as he did so. "Just when it looks like we get an opportunity to spend some time together, something else decides to creep up. It seems like forever since we actually last had a proper date with each other."

They both looked sadly at each other, Kurt's words ringing clear and true between them. Their last date together had been a few weeks before, but with how busy the two of them had been along with the little time they got to see of each other as of late, it had felt like so much longer.

Neither were to blame for the sudden shift of priority in their lives, and it was something that they simply couldn't control. Both college work and their respective jobs had grown and decided to demand more of their time, and although they had both expected it to happen at some point down the line neither Kurt nor Blaine were really prepared for it when it eventually did. It felt strange for both of them to spend such little time with each other after so long of being almost inseparable, and it seemed that whatever time they did get between just the two of them was much too short lived for either of their liking, or soon disrupted by either that of Jesse or Rachel or any of their other friends.

"It's okay," Kurt continued on, noticing how Blaine's frown had fallen and in it's place was left a look of defeat. "It's nearly thanksgiving."

"That's still too long away for me," Blaine groaned, slouching slightly in his chair. "Like a whole three weeks away. I don't want to wait three weeks to spend some actual time with you again."

"I'm sure we'll be able to get together enough before that too," Kurt answered, knowing that he felt exactly the same way.

"What about next week?" Blaine said, sitting up in his seat and looking directly at Kurt. "We'll pick a day, and it'll just be the two of us. No work, no interruptions: just us for a few hours. I can wait for a week better than I can wait for three. And if the worst comes to worse, I can just skip study group next week. I doubt many people will be attending it then anyway, what with the rush for essays and assignments that will be starting up then."

Kurt opened his mouth to reply, but paused when his eyes suddenly caught attention of something in the distance over Blaine's shoulder. Or more, someone. Two someones in fact. His eyes grew wide as he noticed that Rachel had walked in, but judging by her entrance she was less than pleased about something. Kurt narrowed his eyes, as if doing so would make the black cloud that seemed to hover over her head materialize out of thin air.

"What? What are you looking at?"

Kurt was broken out of his daze momentarily, his gaze turning to Blaine's confused expression for a split second before focusing back on Rachel once more. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Blaine turn around, and as he did so Jesse had entered into the room. They both watched as he rushed over to where Rachel was, busy trying to decide what she wanted to eat. Jesse tried to say something to her, only for Rachel to snap at him before grabbing her tray of food and moving along. The interaction was enough to leave both Kurt and Blaine staring in wide eyed shock, and Kurt had a sudden strong desire to figure out what exactly was going on between the two of them.

"What do you think happened this time?"

Kurt continued to watch Jesse and Rachel, noticing how Jesse was still trying to make Rachel listen to him and how Rachel was simply having none of it. When Rachel snapped at him for the second time, Kurt turned to look at Blaine, noticing that his own expression was mirroring just how confused and curious he was currently feeling himself.

"I have no idea," he replied, somewhat bewildered. It wasn't unknown for Jesse and Rachel to argue, in fact it happened quite frequently. But this? What they had just witnessed? It appeared so much larger than the normal bickering that they were used to seeing between the two of them.

"They just had theatre class, didn't they?" Blaine asked, his brows knitting together as he turned his attention back to watch them.

"Yeah," Kurt replied, nodding in agreement as he ate a mouthful of food.

He turned his gaze long enough to notice Jesse rushing to grab his own dinner, obviously not really bothering to pay attention to whatever it was he was buying. Shaking his head slightly, Kurt looked back down at his food, before digging his fork back into it.

"Whatever it is, we're going to be involved whether we like it or not."

"What makes you think that?"

Kurt looked at Blaine, sending him a glare that seemed to scream 'did you seriously just ask me that?'.

"Because we _always _end up involved."

A moment of silence passed between them while Kurt continued to eat and Blaine continued to watch Jesse and Rachel. He eventually turned back in his seat when he noticed that the two were about to make their way to the small table that he and Kurt had managed to grab, deciding that making it appear as if he were oblivious to what he had just witnessed and instead focusing on eating was probably the safest thing to do given the circumstances. He pushed his food across his plate, noticing that Kurt was doing the same across the table, until the sound of Rachel's voice finally reached their ears.

"Jesse how many times do I have to say that I _don't care_," she said through gritted teeth, not even bothering to turn to look in Jesse's direction as she did so. "You know how I feel about the matter."

"I don't even know why I told you know. Nor can I understand why you're making such a big deal out of something so small," Jesse answered, throwing his free hand in the air as he did so. "I mean, it's not like it really even concerns you in any way."

"Doesn't _concern _me?"

"Oh my god, _what _are you two even arguing about?" Kurt interrupted, throwing his fork back down on to his plate as he rolled his eyes before turning to glare at them both.

"_He_," Rachel nodded towards Jesse as she fell into the vacant seat beside Blaine. "Is an inconsiderate little -"

"Watch what you say there Rachel," Jesse interrupted, cutting off whatever she was about to say. She sent him another glare from where she said, and Jesse just let out a loud sigh. "Oh come on, I didn't even _do _anything."

He sat down in the seat next to Kurt, having both Kurt and Rachel sending him similar glares as he did so. He chose to ignore Kurt's, having grown used to him throwing them in his direction by now, but was unable to say the same for Rachel's. Her's were actually beginning to scare him slightly.

"Jesse how can you sit there and say that when you just admitted to me that you want to fraternize with the enemy?"

"Enemy?" Blaine asked, growing confused by the sudden turn of the conversation. Kurt on the otherhand just sighed, rubbing his forehead as he did so.

"This has something to do with Harmony, doesn't it?"

"It has _everything _to do with her." Rachel said bitterly, picking up her fork and moving to stab at her meal, shoving a forkful of food into her mouth.

Kurt and Blaine shared a look across the table as Rachel continued to attack at her meal in between eating it and Jesse continued to talk to her, not that she was even really paying any real attention towards him. Kurt shrugged his shoulders slightly at Blaine's questioning expression, silently telling him that he was just lost as to what was going on as he had, before Rachel spoke up once more.

"Oh would you stop trying to make excuses for how I'm acting 'so dramatically' right now. You've already admitted to having feelings for Harmony and wanting to act on them, it's no use denying it now."

At Rachel's words, Kurt and Blaine's eyes grew wide. They shot their attention to the two of them instantly, hardly believing what it was that they had just heard.

"_What!_"

"Why does it matter anyway?" Jesse asked, ignoring both Kurt and Blaine's sudden outburst. "Why does any of that make it that I'm _fraternizing with an enemy_? There is no enemy. You were the one that decided that you didn't like her since day one. And she hasn't even done anything to warrant your dislike for her!"

"Wait - okay, can one of you two explain for us whats going on?" Blaine asked, knowing all too well that both Kurt and himself wanted to be filled in on whatever it was they seemed to have missed.

"Basically," Rachel answered, her voice laced with an emotion that made it clear to both Blaine and Kurt that her words were as sharp as a double bladed sword then. "When we were in class earlier, busy preparing for the Guys and Dolls auditions that are happening on Friday, _Jesse _decided it would be a good idea to not pay attention and to instead stare at Harmony whenever the opportunity arose," She turned to glare at him once more, her gaze like daggers piercing into Jesse. "I decided to lightheartedly tease him about having a crush on her, but then he decided to spring on me that he actually_ did _like her in that way. I thought he was joking at first, but then I found out that he was being completely serious and just - Jesse how can you betray me like that?"

"How have I betrayed you?" Jesse said in exasperation. "You make it sound like I'm cheating on you or something. I don't understand how it even matters to you who it is I may or may not be interested in."

"Usually, I wouldn't care. But when it comes to an arch rival, then it does become my business. I thought you were on my side?"

"When was their sides in any of this?"

"Since the very beginning! And now suddenly, you're taking hers."

"What?" Jesse asked, his voice rising and his confusion only growing more and more at what Rachel was saying.

"Okay, enough," Kurt said, his head starting to ache somewhat as he continued to be a victim to the argument that was unravelling fast before him. Both Jesse and Rachel stopped arguing long enough to turn their attention to him, and Kurt let out a sigh before continuing to speak again.

"You two are like _children_. What are you even bickering about? Don't answer that -" He added, holding up his hand as Rachel opened her mouth to speak again. "I know what you're arguing about. But just - _why_?"

"Because I'm hurt and upset Kurt," Rachel answered, calming down ever so slightly as she confessed.

"I can see that, and I empathize with your feelings," Kurt said. Because he did. He understood exactly what Rachel was feeling, knowing very well just how much she disliked Harmony. He might not agree with how she was reacting at that moment, and may have even agreed that she was taking things too dramatically even for her, but that was just how Rachel reacted in such situations. She was a class A drama queen, and whenever she felt hurt, that side of her came out stronger than anything. Kurt couldn't help but relate and understand her emotions, because he knew that given the same situation he would most likely have reacted in the same way. It was somewhat terrifying to him somethings just how too similar they were in that respect.

However, just because he could understand what it was that was going through Rachel's mind, it didn't mean that everyone else sitting around the table could.

"Rachel," Blaine spoke softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as he tried to comfort her somewhat. Kurt could tell however though that the next sentence Blaine was going to say was not something Rachel wanted to hear at that moment in time, but he wasn't quick enough to stop him from carrying on with his words either way. "Don't you think that maybe, you're overreacting slightly?"

Rachel's eyes grew wide, and she turned to stare Blaine as she moved away from his embrace.

"Overreacting? No I don't think I am at all."

"You really are," Jesse mumbled, having resorted to moodily picking at his own food. Rachel shot him another glare, although it went unnoticed as Jesse had decided to give up on paying any real attention to her.

"Rachel. Just, please. Consider Jesse's feelings -"

"Blaine..." Kurt warned, but was interrupted once again by Rachel.

"Why should I consider his when he doesn't even think to consider mine?"

"Hey now, that's not fair. Jesse has no power over who it is he likes or doesn't like-"

"So you're agreeing that Harmony is worth risking our friendship over?"

Blaine's face morphed into confusion then, and he stared blankly at Rachel for a few moments as Jesse just groaned at her words.

"Rachel, _what_? When did I say that?"

"Blaine," Kurt said again, louder this time. Blaine turned to look at Kurt, his confusion remaining as he did so. "Leave it."

"I'm just trying to help." He answered, brows furrowing slightly as he moved his arm away from Rachel.

"And right now, you're doing more harm than good, trust me." Kurt answered before turning his attention back to Rachel. He reached for her hand across the table and held onto it tightly. The action seemed to annoy Jesse somewhat, as he stood up suddenly, causing all three of them to turn at look at him. He picked up his half eaten meal, avoiding making eye contact with any of them.

"I have decided that I'm not hungry. So I'll just be - I'm just going to go back to the dorms," He said, his voice laced with defeat.

No one had a chance to say anything to stop him, as Jesse hurried off after that after that. The three of them watched after him, Rachel still glaring daggers at him, Kurt watching him warily and Blaine torn between trying to understand what was even happening and wanting to go and make sure that he was okay.

"Are you alright?" Kurt asked Rachel, a few moments of silence having fallen between the three of them after Jesse's exist. Rachel turned around to face him before shrugging in response.

"I'm upset." She repeated, removing her hand from Kurt's so that she could return to her own meal, no longer violently attacking at it like she had been before. "I thought my friendship meant more to him than that, but clearly I was wrong. I normally wouldn't mind if he had feelings for someone, but it just had to be her. And that's what I'm annoyed about. Out of all the people in the world he could like, it just had to be the one person that manages to get on my last nerve."

Kurt nodded, listening carefully to what she was saying. Blaine however still seemed to be torn between his emotions. He wanted to feel sympathetic for Rachel, truly he did. He wanted nothing but to try and help comfort her, to help make her feel even the slightest bit better. But in his opinion she was letting things bother her that she shouldn't be. And not only that, but he couldn't ignore the hurt look that had fallen on Jesse's face as he had grown silent and unnoticed at the table.

"You know, that thought can work both ways," He said, the words leaving his mouth before he even had any real notice of it. He soon discovered it was yet again the wrong thing to say however, as Kurt just seemed to look at him in annoyance once more and Rachel in shock. Blaine looked between them, before shrugging, deciding that the damage was already done. "What? It can."

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Rachel asked, her tone somewhat annoyed. Kurt's gaze didn't remove itself from Blaine, and suddenly Blaine felt very uncomfortable underneath his scrutiny.

"Just - well is it worth getting so upset over something like this?" He asked, turning his attention to Rachel and trying his hardest to ignore Kurt. "You said so yourself that you thought your friendship was worth more to him than seeing you upset, but doesn't that work for you too? Jesse has no control over who it is that he likes or dislikes, and for some reason it's decided that he likes Harmony. But instead of supporting him like the friend you should be, you're taking the defense because of your own feelings towards the girl. Feelings that have no place in this whole situation because it's something between the two of them. Surely you should be asking yourself if it's worth letting your own feelings for Harmony get in the way of and perhaps even jeopardize the friendship you with Jesse."

Rachel stared at him, open mouth and in shock. A few moments of silence passed until she finally turned her head down, shame written over her features as she tried to hide it from either of the boys gaze. Kurt however found himself frowning more, but decided that it was best for him to keep quiet for the time being.

"I don't want to jeopardize my friendship with Jesse," Rachel answered, her voice soft and quiet compared to what it had been like only moments before. "But at the same time I can't help but feel that he's decided to do this to only make me feel bad."

"Jesse wouldn't." Blaine said, certainty flowing in his words. "Not by choice anyway. He's stupid, and he doesn't most things notice things a lot of the time, but if there's one thing he does try to do it, it's too care for his friends. He cares about you Rachel. He wouldn't want to hurt you."

Rachel shared a sad smile, before turning her gaze back down to the table in front of her.

"He already has though. Weather it was intentional or not."

Quietly, Rachel rose from where she sat, picking up her almost full plate of food as she did so.

"I think I need to go away and think by myself for a little while. I'll see you later Kurt."

"Wait, Rachel -" Kurt said, wanting nothing but to tell her that she didn't have to feel bad or guilty. His cry fell on deaf ears however, and he watched her walk away, the unspoken words swimming about in his mind. He wanted to tell her that it was okay to feel the way she did, that her feelings were justified even if they were a little over the top. But there was no chance before she disappeared.

Kurt turned around sharply, raising an eyebrow in Blaine's direction.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Blaine asked, in the middle of eating a forkful of food.

"What you just said to her. About wanting to be happy for Jesse and putting his happiness above her own even though she's feeling so upset about what he's confessed."

Blaine lowered his fork, frowning slightly at what Kurt was asking him.

"It was the truth Kurt. She shouldn't be getting so involved. What happens between Jesse and Harmony is purely their own business. It doesn't matter if she doesn't like Harmony, she's not going to be the one that could end up in a relationship with her."

"While that may be true, that still doesn't stop her from having her own feelings," Kurt pressed, crossing his arms across his chest as he did so. "You know how dramatic she can get about these sorts of things. It's just the way she reacts."

"And that's supposed to excuse her for overreacting?" Blaine asked, raising an eyebrow of his own at Kurt. "That makes it okay for Jesse to be hurt in all of this? Kurt, Jesse probably told her about his feelings because he felt comfortable enough in their friendship to confide in her about that sort of information, not as a way for her to take it as an offense and to personally hurt her."

"Jesse should consider how those things will impact those that he cares about more before confiding," Kurt said. "It's all well and good telling Rachel that she should be supportive, but it doesn't make it any easier to actually do so when one of the people you have to support and accept is someone that you simply can't stand."

"And I'm guess that you're an expert at knowing exactly what that's like?"

"Oh, I definitely am. Or did you just suddenly forget all about what happened with Sebastian?"

Blaine suddenly froze at Kurt's words. Slowly, he lowered his fork back down onto the plate, and tried his hardest to keep calm. He couldn't help but be shocked that Kurt had decided to step into that territory, especially with how much of a sensitive subject matter it was for the both of them.

"I thought we agreed not to bring him up anymore?"

Kurt simply shrugged, avoiding having to look Blaine in the eye as he replied.

"I'm only bringing it up because it was the same principal with him then as it is now between Jesse and Rachel. You wanted me to tolerate your new friend back then, and look what that nearly did to us. How do you expect Rachel to tolerate Harmony in the same way?"

"Those are two completely different situations!" Blaine answered, unable to understand if what he was hearing really was true or not. Because really? When had the argument suddenly become about something that had happened in their past?

"But they're not. Not really," Kurt continued. "I had to tolerate Sebastian until it eventually became too much, and you just basically told Rachel to tolerate Harmony in the same way even though you know the way she feels towards her."

"Kurt, you're forgetting one very important factor in all of this. You _had_ a reason not to like Sebastian. And a damn good one at that. Rachel's dislike of Harmony is mostly just down to rivalry, she hasn't even tried to see the person behind the talent. If Harmony and Jesse were to date, then that could turn the rivalry between Rachel and her into a friendship instead. Just like the rivalry between you and her grew into a strong friendship after you both realised the two of you had so much in common with one another. But she'll never even know that if she just continues to resent the girl for no good or real reason."

"Surely that's for Rachel to decide herself though?" Kurt asked. "Surely it's good for her to get her annoyance and anger out now instead of playing pretend and doing so later? She'll realise that she's overreacted eventually and go to apologise to Jesse in her own time, and surely that's better than keeping her emotions bottled up inside of her until it's eventually too much and she's pushed just that one step too far."

Blaine continued to stare at Kurt, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Kurt knew that he understood exactly what he was trying to get at, and although he didn't really like the fact that he had brought up a topic that hurt them both, he knew he had to think of something to make Blaine see that by making Rachel hide her emotions instead of reacting in the way of how she truly felt was the wrong thing for her to do. Because if she was dramatic now, it would only grow to be worse if she instead chose to try and ignore her feelings for a long period of time, and then the friendship she had with Jesse would truly be destroyed.

"I can't believe you're comparing this to what happened with Sebastian." Blaine said, shaking his head as he did so. "They're different situations. _Different_."

"It was just an example, and it was the only one I could think of."

Kurt paused, sparing a look at Blaine's face. As soon as he did so however he almost wished he hadn't. Blaine's face was an array of different emotions, each one making Kurt's stomach twist in tight knots at the sight. Sighing, Kurt slumped back in his seat, uncrossing his arms and letting his hands rest upon the table.

"I don't want to argue with you about this. We shouldn't even have to. It's something that both Rachel and Jesse have to deal with themselves, and we can't be the ones to interfere. Especially when it's clear that we have such contrasting opinions on how best to handle the matter. I just -" Kurt paused, his brow furrowing slightly. "I don't want to see them throw a friendship away by going down the same path that we did. What happened back then almost _destroyed _us Blaine."

"But it _didn't_," Blaine replied, reaching out to hold onto Kurt's hand tightly. "We came out of it all stronger in the end. And this thing with Jesse and Harmony is going to end in either one of two ways. Either Rachel will discover that Harmony isn't as terrible as she likes to believe and the two of them will become fine friends fast, or it doesn't last with Jesse and they both don't bother about her anymore. Either way, it won't destroy what they have. True they have a bumpy friendship with each other, but overall they just need to learn to be more supportive and trusting of one another for it to grow. Just like we did."

Kurt smiled sadly at Blaine before looking back down at the table. He could understand Blaine's reasoning, and he wanted to believe in his optimism so badly. He wanted to believe that Rachel and Jesse were able to sort out their argument that easily, and that they could move along from it and grow as people. It would take some time, that was for sure, but it was something worth hoping for. Maybe, maybe Blaine was right.

"I'm sorry for mentioning him." Kurt said suddenly, his voice coming out almost shy as he said the words. Kurt knew he didn't have to say what it was he was referring to, that Blaine understood all too well.

"It's okay. But please, _please _don't use what happened in the past as a trump card again," Blaine replied. "I like to forget about that whole incident as best as I can, and you can't keep pulling it out whenever you need to make a point. Because if you do, then we'll have never truly moved on from it."

Kurt nodded, knowing very well that what had happened with the Sebastian incident had hurt them both. He didn't want to keep reminding Blaine of that time, and he really wished he had picked something else to support his argument better.

"Come on," Blaine said, tugging on Kurt's hand to pull him up from the table. Kurt stood, his brow furrowing in confusion as he reached for his bag with his free hand.

"What?"

"I've decided I'm going to put my essay on hold for the evening. I've been working all morning anyway. It's about time that we spend some time together instead, especially since we've already established we won't get another chance to do so for the rest of this week." Blaine smiled, picking up his - now cold - food as Kurt picked up his. "Movie marathon?"

"That's going to be difficult seeing as Rachel and Jesse won't dorm with one another for an entire evening right now."

"Cinema then. I'm sure we'll be able to find something on to watch."

Kurt smiled sadly at Blaine, throwing his rubbish away and laying the now empty tray to the side before moving his hand to hold on tightly to his bag strap.

"I'd love to Blaine, but I don't think we should." He caught sight of how Blaine's face fell slightly, and continued. "I should probably work on comforting Rachel right now. God knows she needs a friend. And you should be there for Jesse."

Blaine just shook his head, grabbing a hold of Kurt's hand tighter.

"We can do that later. They both need a moment alone to cool down and think by themselves. Once they've had that _then_ we'll be there to comfort them. Until then, we use the time we have together to our advantage."

Kurt thought about Blaine's words for a moment before finally nodding, agreeing that waiting for both of their friends emotions to blow over was probably the best thing to do. Not to mention that he really did want to spend more time with Blaine also, and judging from how busy the two of them were, it was probably a good idea for him to take the opportunity that was being offered to him.

"Okay," he said, and Blaine smiled, before tugging on his hand and leading him out of the cafeteria.

* * *

><p>It was Saturday afternoon, and Kurt had finally woken up after having had to work late the night before. Rachel had disappeared to one of her dance classes that she usually took part in on the weekend, which left Kurt alone in the dorm to focus on his portfolio. He was currently sprawled out across his bed with various fabrics, papers, colours and stationary around him, and he was busy trying to work on a few more design ideas that had sprung on him last minute.<p>

Kurt was thankful to finally have some time to himself. The last few days had been tense for all of them ever since Rachel and Jesse's argument, and things did not seem to have improved since. He was happy for the weekend to have finally arrived, even if it did mean that he was stuck indoors working on his designs. Kurt didn't really mind however, it was something he loved to do after all, and he was aiming for the best outcome possible on his work. He had already impressed with what he had done so far, which he was proud to have achieved in such little time, but now he was striving to keep up that streak.

He heard the door open suddenly, before closing once more and Kurt let out a long sigh. Rachel had returned home, which meant that he was most likely about to be disturbed. Looking down at the piece he was currently working on Kurt spotted something, and he quickly moved his pen to edit it as the sound of Rachel's footsteps got nearer and nearer.

"Hey."

Kurt glanced up from his paper quickly before glancing back down and focusing once more.

"Hello Rachel. How was class?"

"It went well," came her cheerful voice, and Kurt continued to work as Rachel began to fill him in on her day. "Of course, dance classes always do, but I enjoyed it even more this week for some reason. It was just so … relaxing I suppose."

"Well, good." He replied, trying hard to seem attentive even though he was only really half listening. Rachel didn't seem to notice however, instead just choosing to continue to speak.

"Isn't it? I mean after everything that's happened this week and with how things are starting to pile up, it's probably good to have some sort of outlet to retreat too. Usually I'd sing, but dancing helps too." She shrugged, turning to look in Kurt's direction as he continued to work. There was a moment of peacefulness between them, and Rachel tilted her head to one side, watching Kurt with curiosity.

She took a few steps forward, her attention drawn to the outfit that he was currently sketching out. Her eyes seemed to shine at what she saw, and she felt a large smile begin to tear across her face at the sight.

"Kurt that's amazing!" She exclaimed, moving around him so that she could take a better look of the design from over Kurt's shoulder.

To Rachel, watching Kurt while he worked was always a mystifying thing. It was also rare, as Kurt often liked to work in his own solitude so that he could focus completely. Whenever there were moments when she was able to catch a glimpse of what he was working on Rachel couldn't help but be amazed, as it gave her the opportunity to remind herself just how truly talented he was. And artistic. She was well aware that Kurt loved to push the boundaries on the pieces he worked on, and that in doing so his designs would always deliver his own unique artistic twist once complete. Seeing them on paper was breathtaking, but the times when those creations would be brought to life - it was something indescribable. There was always something new and different in his creations. The designs always seemed to find a way to work themselves out, even if they seemed a bit shaky and unknown in the early beginning stages.

He was going to go far, Rachel knew it. She could see it happening easily. And she was so very proud of him, even though she was never allowed to say so without Kurt telling her off for doing so.

"It still has a while to go," Kurt said, looking down at the design that he was working on. "I've already started to make this one-" He pointed to a design that he had pinned to a page in his book - "and it's coming along really well. But I want to work on this one next. I just can't decide on what colour suits it best. Hents all these colour swatches," he waved his hand to where a selection of different colours lay scattered to one side.

Rachel looked over the colours, turning her attention from them to the design sitting on the page. She knew that any advice she gave would be mostly useless though, as Kurt liked to find numerous ways to criticise her on her suggestions before finally settling on his own. Her attention fell back to the sketch, and she couldn't get over just how much she simply adored it.

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough," she said, before a sudden thought hit her. She turned her head slightly so that she could look at Kurt, before speaking up once again.

"So these designs that you're creating in class …" Rachel began, not knowing exactly how she should continue with the sentence. She didn't have to however, as Kurt seemed to understand her train of thought completely. He sent a quick glare in her direction before returning his attention back to the page in front of him.

"Yes Rachel, you are still the model. You really don't need to keep asking me each and every time you get a chance."

_'Or reminding me' _Kurt thought to himself.

There was a squeal of delight from the girl, and Kurt resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes at her. He was suddenly beginning to remember why he preferred to work by himself. Kurt found that Rachel could be terribly distracting, and the way in which she just hovered and watched him as he worked was …, well, somewhat off putting to be honest. Kurt had tried many a time to just shrug the feeling off and get used to it, but no matter how much he tried he just couldn't adapt.

Deciding that if he attempted to continue his work with Rachel having returned would only result in him making some terrible or irreversible mistake to his beloved designs, Kurt set his pen down beside him on the bed. He sat up, stretching slightly before he turned his attention onto Rachel. As he did so, a sudden thought came to the front of his mind, and he came to a quick decision to begin another task that had been high up his agenda for sometime.

"Rachel, I want to talk to you about something."

Rachel perked up somewhat at that, and she looked back at Kurt in shining curiosity.

"Of course. What is it?"

Kurt took in a deep breath. It was now or never. He had been wondering for a while whether to bring the topic up or not at all, trying to work out if he would be crossing a line in doing so. But the more he thought about it the more he knew that he had to at least say something. Especially about this. It was just something that was too big, something that had been bothering him for a while, and he simply felt that he had to address it before it ended up driving him insane.

"It's about Finn."

As soon as Kurt had said his stepbrothers name Rachel froze. She stared back at him for a moment in shock, before moving so that she was sitting down next to him on the bed, deciding to stare ahead of her as she did so.

"What about him?" She asked, her words coming out somewhat cautiously. Kurt turned to face her, searching her face for anything, but finding that it was unreadable. A moment of silence passed between the two of them before he sighed.

"I want to know if you still have feelings for him."

"Kurt -" Rachel began, but Kurt interrupted her.

"Rachel, please. I'm only doing this because I care about both of you." He said, watching her with concern. "How come the two of never tried to see if a long distance relationship would work?"

Rachel took in a deep breath, still not bringing herself to look directly in Kurt's direction. What was she supposed to say to him? That it hurt to think of carrying on a relationship when there would be so many miles between the both of them? That she was frightened of what could happen if it didn't work? That every time she had considered it, she thought of a hundred ways in which things could backfire and fall to pieces right before her very eyes?

"I guess we just didn't see it as an option for us." Was the answer that she settled upon, hoping that that would stop Kurt probing her for more questions. It didn't, and Rachel could sense him frown from beside her.

"Why don't I believe you?" He asked, his voice still calm and in no way judging. "I know that you miss him a lot and that you both miss the relationship that you shared. I can see it whenever you finish talking to him on skype. You're so happy when you see his face, but then as soon as you both sign off, you turn sad."

"You do too whenever you talk to old friends," Rachel answered, somewhat defensively.

"It's different," Kurt replied, smiling at her sadly. "Yes I miss my family and the friends we left behind, and I know you miss them just as much as I do. But when it comes to Finn, it's different for you. I just - I don't understand why. Why didn't you two at least try? I know Finn wanted too, because he talked to me about it."

Rachel sighed as she wrapped her arms around herself. Her eyes darted around the room before she finally gave in and turned to look at Kurt, shrugging as a small but sad smile appeared on her face.

"It was a difficult decision to make, I'll admit," She began. "I wanted to try it, and I really thought about it. But the more that I did, the more it didn't really seem fair to either of us. I was so set on moving here, of making a life for myself in this city while Finn - he was happy back in Lima. He was happy to go to college there, and to continue working alongside Burt in the garage. He didn't need the lights or the glamour that New York had to offer, he was already content where he was. It didn't seem fair to hold onto a relationship where we both wanted to live two very different lifes."

Kurt continued to watch Rachel, sadness falling over him at the understanding he felt from her words. Still, Kurt knew the both of them well, and he knew that although what Rachel was saying was right, there was just one thing she was forgetting. And that was that most of all, Finn loved her. Just as much as she loved him.

"You could still give it a shot," He said quietly. Rachel's eyes widened in shock, and he continued to speak. "When I talk to Finn, he asks about you a lot. He asks about how you're doing, always if you're okay and if you've made it to the stage yet, even though we've only been here a few months. He makes it so obvious how much he misses you, even if he is oblivious to how obvious he's really being. But it's sweet. And I know that if you told him it was what you wanted … he'd want to try long distance with you."

"If that's true, then why doesn't he suggest it to me?" Rachel asked sadly, causing Kurt to just shrug in response.

"Maybe he's just like you. Scared of what could happen. But -" Kurt paused, shuffling slightly as he closed the gap between them, careful not to scrunch up any pieces of paper as he wrapped an arm around her for comfort. "If we always focused on the 'what if's', nothing would ever happen."

Rachel watched him for a moment longer before shaking her head sadly.

"I don't think so Kurt. I understand what your saying, but I think it would be different now. While we worked so well as a couple in high school, our lives our just too different now. My true love is the stage, and right now that's all that I really want to focus on right now. I don't want to focus on any relationship if I'm honest. Not one that's here in New York, nor one that's miles away back home."

"But Rachel -" Kurt began, but he was quickly interrupted.

"Please Kurt. Can we not talk about this anymore?" She asked.

It was the look of anguish on her face that was enough for Kurt to stop pushing the subject any further. He didn't want to force her into a decision, that was for her to make and her alone. He only really wanted to help her see that the option was still very much open to her if she ever wanted to take a chance. Still, he had brought it up now, and Rachel had refused. He wouldn't push anymore, not wanting to upset her any further.

"Okay," he replied softly, before moving to pull her into a hug. "I won't say anything more about it today. I promise."

"Thank you Kurt." She said, wrapping her arms around him in return. The two stayed in the hug for a few moments, before eventually pulling away. Rachel smiled once more, and this time it was a bit more cheerful than the one before. "I know you only mean well."

"Of course." He answered. The two of them exchanged a glance, before Kurt quickly changed to subject, deciding to not dwell on Finn anymore for the time being. "How's things between you and Jesse? I never did get to ask how yesterdays auditions went."

Rachel groaned, rolling her eyes as she did so.

"He's still ignoring me," she said, shaking her head as she did so. "We haven't said two words to each other since the big blow up on Tuesday. I know that I probably _did_ overreact more than I really should have, but I'm still not really ready to apologise just yet. I will though, but I just need some time."

"Blaine said that Jesse's become more of a nuisance than usual lately. Apparently he keeps asking him for advice on what to do, and you _know _how useless Blaine is when it comes to relationship advice."

Rachel laughed at that, and Kurt couldn't help but smile as she seemed to brighten up ever so slightly by his words.

"Sadly, Jesse is persistent as always with his ways and Blaine can't find any peace from his constant questioning." Kurt continued, letting out a long sigh. "How did the auditions go anyway?"

"They went so well," Rachel said, brightening up even more. She turned fully to face Kurt, moving some of the papers he had left on the bed out of the way as she did so. "I think I really impressed them. Of course I won't find out for definite right away, but I have a good feeling about it all."

"I should hope so, you dragged me into rehearsing with you more than enough times." Kurt answered.

"You can never have too much rehearsal Kurt. And besides, you enjoyed it."

Kurt shook his head, rolling his eyes at Rachel's words but unable to hide the smile that appeared on his face. Because if he was being truthful - and no, he really would never admit it to Rachel for fear of making her feel achieved at being right - he really had enjoyed helping her out. Even if he had wanted to throw a script at her more on more than one occasion.

* * *

><p>Okay, first things first, my apologies for it taking almost a month at getting this chapter posted. So many things kept cropping up in my personal life that aided in the delay of posting this. But on top of that, I was just never happy with the way this chapter continued to pan out. I've gone through about three drafts, the first of which was significantly different from the final product but nothing seemed to work. Originally this chapter was much more focused on Jesse and him searching for advice from Blaine, which led to Blaine talking to Kurt which led to him being worried for how Rachel would react when she found out Jesse's feelings for Harmony, but when I tried to write that ... it didn't work as well as I had originally hoped. So I took a short break away from it to think of approaching it in a different way until finally, I got to the point of where we are now. But if I'm truthful, I'm still not overly happy with it at all. But I've decided that it's better to upload it now and fix it later if needs be, then to continue any longer and delay further updates. Especially seeing as I really wanted to get a chapter out before Christmas.<p>

Also, I've changed the category that this story falls into. Originally it was a Romance/Humour story, but I've decided it fits into the Romance/Friendship section better. Originally when I began writing bits and pieces to this way back in February it was primarily comedy, but I've decided since beginning to share it here that actually I'd prefer not to just focus on that. I mean, Rachel and Jesse's little fall out - no matter how OTT it may seem - it's not really humour. But it's needed for how things develop. I'm not sure I'm making much sense to you guys ... but oh well.

I have nothing to say for the next chapter, as it's still very much in the air. But I will say two things: one being that Rachel and Jesse's dispute will not have magically fixed itself, and the other that Thanksgiving will be happening in the story very soon! I've had parts 1 and 3/4 of part 2 written for that for months, and I really, really can't wait to start getting into that. It won't be the next chapter, but it will be appearing soon. Until then, Happy Holidays to you all!


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